Something About Christmas Time
by WildFlower084
Summary: A bet turns into a promise to himself when Booth has only seven days to get Bones into the holiday spirit. [COMPLETE]
1. The Bet

**A/N: Forced to write this AGAIN because for some reason it didn't work the first time. I just had to do a Christmas story this year with Bones. A little warning, this idea might seem to you like OOC especially for Booth, bare with us (Booth and I) I swear he only has good intentions. Now I'll stop here since, if I keep talking, I'll just spoil the whole chapter. Enjoy:-)**

**A/N2: OT -- For those who feel like it, I made a Bones video on the song "Something About Christmas Time" which is uploaded on YouTube. So if you're bored, check it out. **

**Disclaimer: You know the drill... I own absolutely nothing.**

* * *

"Come _on_, Brenn. You didn't go last year. The least you could do is come this year." 

Temperance spun around to face her best friend, her annoyance showing clearly on her face.

"Ange, we've through already." She replied as scanned herself onto the platform. "I'm not going."

Turning around, she climbed two by two the steps to the platform. A skeleton was patiently waiting for her on a table. Grabbing a pair of latex gloves, she put them on before taking her clipboard and her pen. She began to examine the remains, all the while her friend's gaze on her. She ignored her.

Angela sighed loudly hoping her friend would read into it and see how truly annoyed she was. She had been pestering her for the past week, every time getting a very 'final' no as an answer. But despite her lack of success, Angela wasn't about to give up. She'd drag her best friend to the party if it was the only way to get her there but Temperance was _going_ this year. She just couldn't understand, couldn't understand how her friend could live all crooked up alone in her corner all the time. Personally, she couldn't stand it.

"Booth is going to be there." She said, hopeful that this would at least give her some kind of reaction. "And Cam. Actually, I think they're going together."

Temperance's head snapped up. A smile tugged at Angela's lips. Had she finally convinced her friend?

"Well I hope they have a lot of fun." Temperance finally replied after a few seconds of silence.

Angela rolled her eyes.

"What is it with you and Christmas parties? It's nothing complicated. You just go, drink, eat, socialize. If Russ was throwing a party, would you refuse to go too?"

"Russ isn't throwing a party." Temperance replied as she bent down to take a closer look at the victim's skull.

She stared for a few seconds before straightening up and scribbling something on the form.

"I know that, it was hypothetical." Angela replied, forcing herself not to roll her eyes.

Temperance nodded, barely listening to her best friend.

Angela stood still, staring at her best friend staring at a skeleton. She really wished Tempe would open up a bit more to people. She barely even knew the people she worked with outside the team. And she had been so depressed lately, or so it had seem to Angela anyway, that seeing other people would do her some good. But unfortunately, she knew her best friend wasn't like that. She sighed.

"I'm going to my office." Angela said as she began walking away.

"Have fun."

Angela sighed as she jogged down the stairs.

* * *

"Angela, have you seen Bones?" 

The voice of her colleague startled her. Jumping slightly, she looked up from her computer and turned towards the sound of the voice.

She found Booth standing at her door, staring at her expectantly, his hands toying with a pen.

"I think she's in her office." Angela replied, dismissively.

Actually, she had no clue where her friend could have been at the moment. Nearly two hours had gone by since their conversation and Brennan hadn't came to see her since. Too tired of arguing about a Christmas party, Angela had preferred staying in her office.

Her tone made Booth frowned.

"You two got into a fight or something?"

Angela sighed.

"She just _won't _go to the Christmas party. I tried everything but she still refuses to go."

Booth raised an eyebrow.

"That's it? That's what you two fought about? What's wrong with not wanting to go do small talk with people you barely know or like? Who would want to do something like that anyway?"

"Me." Angela replied, pointing at herself. "I swear, this girl has no holiday spirit whatsoever."

Booth's jaw tightened.

"Well can you blame her?"

There had been an edge to Booth's voice and Angela immediately picked it up. No, she couldn't blame her best friend. After all, Christmas only reminded her of how she felt when she woke up Christmas morning to find that her parents had disappeared.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to sound mean. It's just that she's missing out on so much. She could meet really nice people if she just went out once in a while."

Booth ran a hand through his hair.

"Well you know, Bones is just not that kind of person. She actually _enjoys_ spending time alone, thinking about bones."

Angela shuddered. Who, other than Brennan, actually enjoyed thinking about bones? She felt a sinking feeling at the bottom of her stomach. She would never get Temperance to open to people. Maybe she just ought to stop trying.

One quick glance at Booth changed her mind. Her feeling of defeat immediately vanished and her face lit up.

"She'll listen to you."

Booth frowned.

"What?"

A grin spread across Angela's face.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that before? Especially after the reaction she had when I told her you and Cam were going to the party together."

"You did what?" Booth asked, stepping forward.

"If you ask her to go to the party, she will." Angela went on, ignoring Booth's question.

"What makes you think that?"

Angela got to her feet, suddenly energized.

"It's simple. You're her partner, she trusts you and she actually likes spending time with you. I'm a hundred percent sure that, if you ask her to go with you to the party, she'll go."

But Booth didn't seem to share her point of view.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Angela."

Angela walked towards him. Grabbing his hands in hers, she brought them up and put on her best begging mask on.

"Come on, do it for me. Pleeeeease."

Booth rolled his eyes and tried his best to suppress a chuckle.

"Does this beggining really work on Hodgins?"

Booth rolled his eyes.

Angela nodded proudly and Booth chuckled. The woman let go of his hands and took a step back.

"Thanks, Booth. I really appreciate it. This girl really needs to get into the holiday spirits." Angela added as she sat back down at her computer.

Booth nodded and was about to step out of the office when a part of him got an idea. Unsure if he should voice it, he stopped under the threshold to consider. Seconds later, he was turning back towards the artist.

"What if I told you that I could get her into the spirit of the holidays?"

"I'd told you to keep dreaming." Angela replied, her eyes not leaving her screen.

"What if I bet you that I could?"

Angela spun around in her chair, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Feeling a little confident, are we?"

Booth shrugged.

"You have until Christmas." Angela said, setting the rule down.

"Seven days?"

Angela nodded. Her nod told Booth that he wasn't going to have a choice.

"Seven days."

Booth paused to consider the proposition. Seven days surely wasn't a long time but he was pretty sure he could still do it. He had his way with Bones, he had his way to make her realize things she wouldn't have realized without him. Of course, she had the same effect on him and it was one of the things he liked about their relationship.

Making up his mind, he extended his hand forward.

"Deal."

Angela beamed.

"Deal." She replied as they shook hands. "Wait? What are we betting?"

Booth shrugged.

"Okay, let's think about this." Angela went on. "If you lose, you have to take me out for dinner and a movie."

Booth's eyes widened.

"But aren't you dating Hodgins?"

"Yeah and that's the thing. If you lose, not only will you have take mout for dinner and a movie but you will also risk having both Hodgins _and_ Brennan pissed at you. Now, you wouldn't want to upset her, would you?"

Booth shook his head. She had a point.

"And if I win?" He inquired.

Angela paused to consider for a moment.

"If you win, you get a new found respect from me."

Booth grimaced.

"That's not really fair."

"That's the deal." Angela replied.

Booth shook his head slightly. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this and, worst of all, that he had gotten this idea in the first place.

"You're on."

* * *

**So, think it will work?**


	2. Day 1: Santa

**A/N: I gotta say, I was surprised about the reviews that I got for the prologue. I was expecting comments like "Oh Booth would never do something like that" but all of you were really excited about where this story could be going. So I'm very happy and I decided to update quicker.**

**A/N2: Remember, Parker is five years old (or four, depending on when his birthday is and since he's been four since season one, we'll just pretend his birthday is in October/November). So any mistake I make during his speeches are there on purpose (example: musum museum). This rule applies to future chapters as well.**

* * *

**Day 1 – Saturday December 18th**

Seven days. He had seven days

He still couldn't believe he had bet on something like that with a colleague. The second he had woken up that morning, guilt had immediately ravished him. He had bet on his partner's misery. If she were ever to find out, Booth was pretty sure she would want nothing to do with him at all. He sighed. Oh well. He'd just have to deal with it. It had been his idea and Day 1 had already started. If he didn't want to take Angela out for a date, he'd have to do it. Getting out of his bed, he slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and walked out of his room.

Still half-asleep, Booth stepped into the hallway. He could already hear the television in the living room which meant Parker was already awake. Funny noises reached his ears which told him his son was watching cartoons.

"Hey Buddy." He said, sleepily.

"Hi Dad!" Parker replied, his eyes never leaving the television.

"Are you hungry? What do you want for breakfast?"

Parker's eyes snapped to his father, immediately lighting up.

"Pancakes!"

Booth chuckled. He would never understand his son's obsession for pancakes. Sure, he liked eating pancakes every once in a while but, according to what Rebecca had told him and what he had seen over the last few months, pancakes was all his son seemed to want to eat for breakfast. Thankfully for him, he always kept a box of frozen pancakes in the freezer.

"Pancake it is, then."

"YAY!" Parker replied before turning back to the TV.

_This kid watches too much TV._ Booth thought as he slowly turned around and walked to the kitchen.

Minutes later, Booth was dragging Parker away from his cartoons and to the kitchen table.

They sat down together and Parker immediately began eating. Taking a mouthful that was way too big for him, he struggled to chew with his mouth closed. Booth watched him for a few seconds before taking his own bite out of his breakfast.

"Hey Paker, do you know where we're going today?"

"Where?" The five-year-old asked, looking up at his father.

"We're coming to see Santa."

A grin spread across his face.

"Really?!"

Booth nodded, his own smile spreading across his face. He just loved seeing his son beam like he was right now. Christmas always seemed to do this to him. It didn't matter whether he had been sad earlier or already happy. Whenever Santa or Christmas was involved, Parker's face lit up and his mood always brighten. Booth couldn't remember the last time he had been excited about Christmas like his son was. He just hoped that his son would never forget.

"So eat your breakfast. Then we're going to get dressed, we'll clean your room and then we'll leave. I'll stop by to pick up a friend of mine on the way to the mall."

"Who?" Parker asked, curiously, as he took another bite from his pancake.

"Dr. Brennan. You remember her, don't you?"

Parker nodded.

"The musum lady."

"Yes, that's her. She'll be coming along with us."

"YAY! But why?"

Booth stopped to consider how to answer his son. After all, he couldn't explain the whole situation since Parker wouldn't understand everything. He decided to keep it simple.

"You see Parker, not everybody has a family to spend Christmas with. Dr. Brennan doesn't have a family and when people don't have families, sometimes they like to spend the holidays with their friends. This year, she'll be spending it with us."

"Oh. Okay." Parker replied as if everything were as simple as how his father had explained.

"But we can't tell her, okay? It'll be our little secret."

"Why?"

"Because Dr. Brennan doesn't like when people fuss over her."

"What does fuss mean?"

And while Booth explained to his son what fussing meant, they cleared their plates.

* * *

Booth pulled the SUV into the parking lot of his partner's apartment. As he looked for parking, his eyes scanned the lot for Brennan's car. Fortunately, he found it at the back of the building. Unbuckling his seat, he turned off the ignition and turned to his son.

"Daddy is just going to go get his friend, okay? You stay in the car. I'll lock the doors."

Parker nodded, unsure of if he wanted to stay alone in the SUV. But when his father got out and locked the doors behind him, the boy immediately felt better. The radio had been left on and the doors were impenetrable (whatever his daddy had meant when he had told him that a few weeks ago). Already bored out of his mind even after a few seconds, Parker began to look around.

Booth took the stairs two by two. It would have been ridiculous to take the elevator since Temperance only lived on the second floor of her apartment. The halls were quiet and Booth wondered what kind of building his partner lived in. After all, it _was_ Saturday afternoon and there should have been at least some noises coming from the apartments or even people walking out of their home. So far, he had crossed paths with no one.

He knocked three times on the door and waited. His heart began racing and he couldn't understand why. It's not like he was asking her out on a date. They were going to the mall to see Santa with Parker. Suddenly, he wondered if bringing her along was going to be a good idea. After all, she might start babbling about the anthropological meaning of Santa's existence and ruin the whole thing for the children. He was about to turn around when Temperance opened the door. She looked surprisingly at him.

"Booth? What are you doing here?"

Regaining some kind of confidence, he smiled at her.

"Get dressed, we're going to the mall."

"I am dressed and why are we going to the mall?"

"We're going to see Santa."

"_We_?"

Booth nodded.

"Yes, we. Me, you and Parker."

At Parker's name, Temperance immediately shook her head.

"No, I can't go. You know how horrible I am with children. Besides, it's your time with your son. I'd be intruding."

Booth took a step forward, leaving barely an inch between the two of them. He looked down in her eyes, hoping it would help him convince her.

"You're not horrible with children, you're actually pretty good when you put your mind to it. And Parker would love for you to come along. He told me so himself."

Temperance raised an eyebrow.

"Your son told you that he would want _me_ to come with you?" She asked, skeptically.

"Well not exactly." Booth replied, tilting his side. "But when I told him you'd be coming along, he was pretty happy about it."

Booth threw her his charm smile.

"Please?"

Puppy eyes. Temperance knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him. Seconds later, she was sighing loudly.

"Fine. I'll go."

Booth grinned.

"Now, hurry up. Parker is waiting in the car."

Temperance nodded, barely listening.

She walked around the apartment, turning off appliances and lights before joining Booth back at the door. Grabbing her purse and her keys, she threw on a coat and a pair of winter boats and pushed her partner out of the apartment. She locked the door behind her.

They were reaching the stairs when Booth spoke again.

"Just one thing." He began. "If you say out loud that Santa doesn't exist, I'll shoot you."

Temperance rolled her eyes.

* * *

The mall was crowded with people and the lineup for Santa Clause was miles long. Temperance sighed the second they got in line.

"We'll be here for ages." She whispered to her partner.

"Just look at the scenery while we wait."

Temperance looked up at the Christmas decoration and grimaced.

"I never understood why malls, or anybody for that matter, decide to decorate for Christmas."

A few heads turned her way to turn back moments later when Booth glared at them.

"I mean, I don't decorate for Christmas. There's no harm in that."

Booth sighed.

"That's because you're a Christmas killer." He said between his teeth.

Temperance looked at him.

"Okay, you're mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Yes, you are. And you shouldn't be because you already knew how I would be if you brought me here and you still went and did it. So it's your fault."

Booth glanced down at his watch. Barely two minutes had passed. This was going to be a looong afternoon.

* * *

The line had shortened and from where they stood, Booth could see the man dressed as Santa getting tired. Never in his entire life would Booth accept to dress up and be Santa, even just for an afternoon. Sure, it made thousands of children happy but the job took patience that Booth wasn't sure he had in him.

He turned to look at his partner. She was busy studying the man's reaction as well. He saw, in her eyes, the thoughts running through her mind. She hadn't said a single comment about Santa's real identity but he didn't want to jinx it. There was still plenty of time for her to make a comment.

Parker was getting restless. Several times, Booth had had to pick him up in his arms because the child was getting tired of standing up. They had been standing in line for close to an hour and at least ten children were still ahead of them. Maybe they should have come earlier.

"Daddy, when is it going to be our turn?" Parker whined.

"There are still a few people in front of us, Parker. But it won't be long. Play with your Gameboy while you wait." Booth replied as he took out the little game from the backpack he had brought.

Parker grabbed it eagerly.

_Why didn't I think about that before? _Booth thought to himself.

He glanced at his partner. Their eyes met.

"Having fun?"

Temperance shook her head.

"Sorry about the wait. I didn't think there would be so many people."

"It's okay."

"So... do you have any plans for Christmas?"

Temperance shook her head once again.

"I was going to go see Russ but he's going to his girlfriend's side of the family so I won't be able to see him. I guess I'll just stay at the lab and catch up on work. I might even work on my novel. I have a deadline in January and I still haven't started working on my new chapters."

The woman in front of them turned around.

"You're going to work on Christmas day?" She asked, surprised.

Temperance simply shrugged.

"No, she's not." Booth replied on a tone that told the woman she wasn't minding her own business. "I'll personally make sure that she doesn't."

He turned to his partner.

"You're spending Christmas with Parker and I this year."

"Yay!" Parker said.

Temperance looked down at the child then back up at the father.

"Booth, I..."

"Just do it." The woman in front of them said.

Booth glared at her.

"Bones, I won't take no for an answer." Booth replied, turning back to his friend. "You're my partner and I say that you have spent Christmas all alone for too long."

Temperance rolled her eyes. She knew how Booth could be when he had a good idea and she knew he wouldn't be letting go of this so quickly. She sighed.

"Seems like I don't have a choice."

Booth smiled before looking down at his son.

"Isn't it that great Parker? Dr. Brennan will be spending Christmas with us."

Parker beamed up at the woman and Temperance was unable to resist his smile. She smiled back.

Somewhere at the front of the line, another child climbed onto Santa's lap.

* * *

"And what do you want for Christmas, my young boy?"

Booth watched in amazement as Parker began to list the toys he wanted for Christmas. Stars twinkled in his eyes as he watched what he was pretty sure was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Behind him, he heard a few parents whisper how adorable the child on the Santa Clause's laps was. Booth smiled proudly. This was his son, his blood. Now he understood why Rebecca was so inclined on bringing Parker to see Santa. He could do it every day of the week if he could.

"He's adorable, isn't he?" Booth asked, turning to his partner.

"Yes, he is." Temperance replied, his eyes not leaving the child.

Booth chuckled.

"I remember the first time I sat on Santa's lap. I was maybe four or five. I told him I wanted skates for Christmas because I wanted to be able to play hockey with my brother and his friends. Two weeks later, I got my skates."

"How could you possibly remember something like that? It's been said that people cannot remember anything under the age of five because of a situation called childhood amnesia."

Booth sighed.

"I thought you said you didn't believe in psychology, Bones."

"I don't but this makes sense. Besides, there's a difference between biological psychology and pure psychology."

"And tell me, what _is_ the difference?"

"To me, everything that tries to analyze a person's behavior or thoughts is what 'pure psychology'. It's using personality theories not based on hard evidence to analyze not only their behaviors but also how a person's perception has caused them to act a certain way. That's the kind of psychology I hate. But biological psychology, it's more clinical, more medical, more my field. It studies the brain and how it functions, and includes the nervous system, the neurons, the synapses and even memory. All of that interests me because I consider it biology, not psychology. It's something we can test with various scans. It's scientific."

Booth nodded. He guessed her definition made sense yet he wasn't entirely convinced.

"Well I don't care what your childhood amnesia theory says, _I _still remember my first visit to Santa."

He turned back to his son. From the corner of his eye, Booth could see Temperance glancing around them.

Parker finally got off the man's lap after a picture and a lollipop. The young boy ran back to his dad and Booth picked him up.

"Hey Dad! See what I got?"

Booth thanked the elf standing near the gate to Santa's Domain before walking away. And as Parker rambled on about what he had asked Santa for Christmas, Booth silently thanked whoever was listening for helping Temperance keep her mouth shut about the truth behind the Santa Clause story.

* * *

Temperance flunk herself on her couch and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe how exhausting her day had been. After an afternoon of waiting around, walking in a mall and listening to cheesy Christmas music, she welcomed the silence of her apartment with open arms. She groaned at the thought that Booth had told her he would be picking her up the next day for yet another activity. She sighed loudly. What had she gotten into? 


	3. Day 2: Of Presents and Christmas Trees

**A/N: OMG I had so much fun writing this chapter that I hope that you will love reading it. There's just something about writing about Christmas. **

* * *

Day 2 – December 19th – Of Presents and Christmas trees

"Rebecca is dropping off Parker at five which means we have three hours to shop." Booth explained as he pulled the SUV in the parking lot of the mall.

Temperance was staring out the window. She couldn't believe she had let herself be dragged to that mall twice in twenty-four hours. She didn't think she had come down here that many times since she had moved to Washington.

"Why do we have to shop?" Temperance whined as they climbed out of the car.

"Because that's what people do, Bones." Booth replied, locking the doors.

As they walked towards the entrance, Booth rummaged through his pockets.

"What are you looking for?" Temperance asked.

"My Christmas list."

"You made a list?"

"I have to. I have so many people to buy presents for, it's hard to remember."

"Who are you buying presents for?" Temperance asked, curiously.

"Well Parker, that's for sure. I'm buying him three or four. We'll have to go to Toys 'R Us though. I'm sure you've heard of that store before."

"Not at all."

"I should have known."

Temperance slapped his arm. Booth smiled.

"I also have to buy a present for my parents, one for my brother, another one for my sister, and..."

"You have a sister?" Temperance asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You seem surprised."

"Well it's just that you've never mentionned her before."

Carolers were singing beside the mall's main entrance, a bowl hanging on a chain and attached to a pole. Booth grabbed a handful of change and dropped it in the bowl. A man beside the bowl thanked him.

"Why did you do that?" Temperance asked, even more surprised.

"It's for the Salvation Army. I _have_ to do it."

"Why?"

Booth sighed.

"You know what, Bones? Why don't you just stop asking questions for a while? You don't decorate for Christmas. Do I go and pester you with questions? No. So, just stop questioning my actions."

"Sorry." Temperance said, not understanding why her partner was freaking out about her questions.

"Thank you."

They walked in silence for a few seconds before Temperance spoke again.

"Who else are you buying presents for?" She asked, shyly.

"Other than my parents, my brother and my sister, I also have my newphew and my niece."

"You have a nephew and a niece?"

Booth grinned

"I know. I'm Uncle Seeley." He replied, as proud as a boy who just won something. "There's Micheal, my brother's son, who just turned seven a couple of months ago. Andrea, my sister, gave birth to a little girl last month named Hannah-Lee."

He turned to his partner. Temperance forced a smile. She was having a hard time picturing Booth as an uncle.

"How about you? Will you be buying any presents?"

Temperance shook her head.

"No. I don't think so."

"Oh come on, Bones." Booth replied as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a store. "Tell me you're at least going to be your brother a present. It's Christmas."

"I just don't see why I should, Booth." Temperance replied as she followed him into the store. "My brother should know that I love him and care about him without having me giving him a present. Presents don't show love, Booth. Actions do."

Booth stopped abruptly in front of her causing Temperance to collide with his back. He slowly turned around and locked eyes with her.

"Yeah, actions do. Giving a present to someone, a present that you know they will love, is one of those actions you're talking about. Trust me, Bones. The feeling you get when you see the person's reaction when they like the present you gave them is amazing. And _that's_ what Christmas is all about."

Temperance blinked back the few tears that had managed to form in her eyes from Booth's speech. They stared a few more minutes into each other's eyes before Booth broke the contact. Turning around, he began walking once more.

"It won't be long. I just have to find the video game my brother asked for and then we're out of here."

* * *

She hadn't wanted to shop for her brother's present with Booth. She knew exactly what to give him but she didn't want her partner to know about it. She knew what he would do if he ever found out that she had actually thought about buying a present for Russ. He would have clapped her back and say that he was proud she was getting into the holiday spirit and she didn't want that. Because she wasn't in the spirit of the holidays, she just felt like showing her brother how much she was happy he was back in her life. And she knew just what to get him. 

They had agreed to meet back at the entrance in an hour. Temperance didn't know what she would do in an hour since buying Russ' present wouldn't take that much time. After ten minutes, she had finally found what she had been looking for. She still had fifty minutes to go. Sighing, she walked out of the store and began looking around.

She knew Booth was right. She could still remember the first present she had ever bought for someone. She had been thirteen years old and her parents had given her money to buy Christmas presents. She had gone down to the mall with her brother and they had stopped at a store where she had found a very nice crystal dolphin. She hadn't had enough money to buy it alone and she had convinced her brother to split the cost with her. All of this seemed so far away even though it had happened less than twenty years earlier.

Having nothing better to do, she simply walked around, examining stores and their content. Stopping in front of an antiquities store, she browsed around for a few minutes but found nothing in the shape of a dolphin. She walked out only minutes after stepping in.

She couldn't understand how people could do this for fun. She passed several teenage girls on her way, each of them carrying bags full of clothes, Temperance presumed. She had never been into shopping. Sure, she liked the occasional purchase of a piece of clothing or a new ornament for her apartment but it was pretty much the extent of it. She would never do this for fun, she was pretty sure of that.

People zoomed past her, bumping her on their way. She crossed paths with mothers tagged with three whining children. She passed couples holding hands, exchanging quick kisses. She sighed. It had been so long since she had been in a relationship. Sure, there had been David who had turned out to be a real jerk. There had been Micheal who had betrayed her, her boyfriend before that with whom she had absolutely nothing in common and lately, there had been this guy named Will who had ended up killing his own brother. No matter how hard she tried, or didn't try, she always fell on a bad guy.

Angela's response to that was that it was a sign that she belonged with Booth and Temperance always snorted at her comment. Booth and her didn't belong together. They were just partners. Besides, he was with Cam and frankly, she was pretty sure it was the best decision he could have made. 'They' would never work out. They were too different. She didn't believe that opposites attracted, at least not in their case. They were just really good friends, Booth had told her so himself.

As she passed in front of yet another store, Temperance found herself wondering if maybe there _was_ more between them. A few evidences did point in that direction. She stopped in front of the store and examined the objects through the window. Something caught her attention and as she set eyes on it, she instantly knew what she had to do.

* * *

As planned, the duo met up at the entrance of the mall. 

"Have you bought something for Russ?" Booth asked as they stepped out of the sliding doors.

The carolers were still singing and Temperance wondered if they were tired. Surprised by her own thoughts, she grew even more surprised when her free hand reached into her purse and rummaged through it.

Booth watched as Temperance grab a handful of change and dropped it in the hanging bowl. A smile tugged at his lips which stopped the second Temperance turned to face him. Booth raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"It's Christmas." Temperance simply replied as she began walking towards the SUV.

Booth, momentarily stunned by her actions, followed quickly after.

* * *

"Daddy!" Parker screamed as he stepped inside the warm house. "Daddy, I'm here!" 

At the sound of his child's voice, Booth stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the front door.

"Hey Buddy. How was Grandma Patty's house?" Booth asked as he picked up his son and kissed him.

"It was so cool! She gave me a new car _and_ I got to help her make chocolate for the Christmas party."

Booth set his son back down.

"Wow!" Booth replied. "Did you have fun?"

"Uh-huh."

Then, looking up at Rebecca, he nodded curtly.

"Dr. Bwennan!" Parker cried as he ran up to the anthropologist.

Booth turned around to see his partner standing a few steps behind him. He watched as Parker wrapped his arm around her waist. Their eyes locked only for a second before Temperance pulled the little boy into a quick hug.

"Did you have a fun afternoon?" Temperance asked.

Her tone had been awkwardly cheerful but Booth overlooked it. After all, this was all new to her. He didn't think his partner had been hugged many times by children.

"Yeah. I made candies."

"Wow!"

Letting go of Temperance, Parker turned back to his mother.

"Come give Mommy a kiss." Rebecca beckoned him.

Parker obliged.

Rebecca picked him up, kissed him before putting him back down on the floor.

"When will you be picking him up?" Booth asked, already dreading the day when Parker will have to go back to his mother's house.

"Christmas Day, probably around one or so."

Booth nodded.

"Okay, say goodbye to mommy."

"Bye Mommy!"

After one more kiss on the top of her son's head, Rebecca turned around and walked out of the house.

When the door had closed and Rebecca had gotten in her car, Booth turned to his son.

"Guess what we're doing today?"

"What?" Parker asked, eagerly.

"We're decorating the Christmas tree."

"YAY!"

"And Temperance will help us decorate it."

Parker beamed at her. Temperance shyly smiled back.

"Let's get ready." Booth said before walking off down the hall.

* * *

Temperance watched, from the couch, as father and son began setting up the tree. She smiled at Parker's willingness to help, taking out the fake tree branches out of the worn box and placing the branches in the correct hole. Soon, the fake pine tree stood tall and proud in Booth's living room. 

"Now it's time for the lights." Booth said as he took out a long string of lights out of the box. "And, as always, we'll have to untangle them." He added with a frustrated sigh.

Taking this as her cue to help him, Temperance got off the couch and sat down on the cold floor beside her partner. She grabbed one end of the string and began untangling the lightbulbs. Parker sat, cross-legged, beside them.

"Daddy, can we put some music on?"

"Sure, Parker. Why don't you pick a CD out of our Christmas collection."

"Okay." Parker replied, getting up and running to the stereo.

"He just loves listening to Christmas music while we decorate the tree." Booth whispered to his partner. "Watch that, he'll pick the 'choir mix'."

Upon seeing Temperance's frown, Booth added:

"It's this tape I used to listen to when I was a child. My sister was in a choir and they recorded an album with their songs. I turned it into a CD when I got my new stereo."

Temperance nodded. This felt weird; being with him, at his house, only days from Christmas, and talking about Christmasie things felt all surreal to her. For the first time in years, she was celebrating Christmas, something she never thought she would be doing after her parents' disappearance. Yet, somewhere deep in inside, it felt almost normal to be doing this with her partner.

Seconds later, music was blasting through to the living room. Temperance jumped, startled. Booth chuckled.

"Parker, turn the volume down please."

The volume was turned down.

"Thank you."

_You know Dasher, and Dancer, and _

_Prancer, and Vixen Comet, and Cupid, and _

_Donner and Blitzen _

_But do you recall _

_The most famous reindeer of all_

Booth smirked and Temperance immediately knew that his assumption had been right. As Parker began to sing along, Temperance found herself smiling at the cuteness of his performance. She giggled softly as Parker began dancing around. Encouraged by Temperance's reaction, Parker began to sing louder.

_Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer_

_had a very shiny nose_

_and if you ever saw it_

_you would even say it glows._

Booth smiled tenderly at his partner. It was nice to see her having fun. Their eyes met and locked. As the second part of the chorus started, Booth's voice joined his son's.

_All of the other reindeer_

_used to laugh and call him names_

_They never let poor Rudolph_

_play in any reindeer games._

"Come on, Bones. Sing along." Booth encouraged her.

Temperance shook her head, blushing slightly.

"No, Booth. I don't know the words."

Booth rolled his eyes.

"It's Rudolph the rednosed reindeer. Everybody knows that song. Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say..."

And for a reason Temperance couldn't quite pinpoint, she found herself singing in spite of herself.

_"Rudolph with your nose so bright,_

_won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"  
_

_Then all the reindeer loved him_

_as they shouted out with glee,_

_Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,_

_you'll go down in history!_

_You'll go down in history_

_You'll go down in hiiiiss-tooo-ryyyyy._

The song end and Parker immediately began clapping. Booth joined in, soon followed by Temperance who let out a quiet laugh.

"Okay." Booth said as the CD changed to a new song. "Let's get these things untangled so we can start decorating."

_Up on the housetop, reindeer pause  
Out jumps good ol' Santa Claus  
Down through the chimney with lots of toys  
All for the little ones, Christmas joys_

And about an hour later, the three of them were standing, looking proudly at the fruit of their labor: a very sparkling Christmas tree illuminated the now dim-lighted living room. Booth looked down at his son. In his eyes, he could see the reflection of the twinkling tree in front of them. He sighed happily.

His gaze continued its trail until it reached his partner. Temperance was staring intently at the tree. Her face showed no emotion whatsoever but Booth knew that whatever emotions his partner might have been feeling, it was all happening internally. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked at that moment. Her hair was temporarily died by the colours of lights on the tree. Red, blue, green, yellow and purple all mixed together in her hair like a rainbow. Booth felt a wave of a certain familiar emotion wash over him.

He watched her a few more seconds before turning back to the tree.

"Okay, who wants hot chocolate?"

"Me, me, me!" Parker replied, immediately.

Temperance chuckled softly at the boy's excitment.

"Bones?"

Temperance nodded.

Booth began to walk to the kitchen, his son on his heels, when he realized his partner wasn't following. He turned to her and was going to open his mouth when she said:

"Go. I'll join you in a minute."

Booth nodded, immediately understanding what his partner was silently asking. Pulling his son closer to him, they walked to the kitchen.

Temperance stayed behind and turned back at the tree. The beauty of it was breathtaking and Temperance couldn't remember the last time she had seen such a beautiful scenery. A few tears shot to her eyes and one managed to fall. It slowly made its way down her cheek and dropped on the collar of her shirt. The tear was soon followed by another one.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, startled.

"It's okay to feel overwhelmed, Bones."

Temperance blinked back the remainder of the tears.

"I'm not feeling overwhelmed. I'm fine."

She sniffed.

"Really, Booth. I'm fine."

Booth nodded. He wasn't going to argue with her on that one.

"Come on." Booth said, trying to sound cheerful despite the feeling of sadness and sympathy he was feeling for his friend. "Let's go make some hot chocolate."

* * *

**Okay, I desperately need your help. What do you think Temperance should get Booth for Christmas? I just can't seem to find something for him. So if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know. I might just pick your idea. :-)**


	4. Day 3: Christmas Plays

**A/N: Well I'm back after a HUGE writer's block and a very stressful and emotional week. I'm so sorry I made you all wait. I really hope that you like this chapter and thank you A LOT for the ideas for Booth's gifts. I got pretty good ideas, I know it was tough and I appreciate your help. Now, on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I totally didn't come up with the ideas for the show. Got them all at dltk-holidays . com

* * *

Day 3 (December 20th – Monday) **

As Temperance stepped out of the SUV, she felt as though she was part of one of the many Christmas movies. A few snowflakes twirled in the air, dancing to some kind of silent music, the sky was clear and stars shined brightly. A soft wind was blowing as many parents slowly made their way to the entrance of the school. Temperance was pretty sure that, if she listened close enough, she would hear the soft sound of Christmas music and tiny bells ringing. She shivered.

"You okay?"

Booth's voice brought her back to reality.

"Yes. Why?"

"You shivered. Are you cold?"

Temperance shook her head.

"No. I was just thinking." She replied as they climbed the stairs to the school.

"About?"

Booth opened the door and Temperance stepped inside the warm building. Taking off her mitains, she replied:

"Just how being in the parking lot reminded me of Christmas movies."

Booth frowned, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Christmas movies?"

"Yeah. You know, in Christmas movies, there's always a scene where the parents go see one of their children starring in a play. It's what we're doing right now and I just thought it how ironic it was that it was like in the movies."

She turned to her partner.

"Alright, Bones. You're getting in the Christmas spirit." Booth replied as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

Temperance rolled her eyes but didn't move away.

She let her gaze wander around. She examined the decorations. Guirlands and various paintings of Santa Claus, Christmas trees and snowmen hung on the wall. In the window of one of the classrooms, Temperance noticed a snowflake glued to it. She let her gaze linger a moment longer on the snowflake as her mind brought her back to her fourth grade art class.

* * *

"_Alright, class. Settle down." Henrietta Bennett said as she stared admiringly at the overexcited children in front of her._

_Their cheeks were red from playing outside and their eyes sparkled. She sighed. How she loved to see them like this, all happy and smiling. _

_The class fell silent and Mrs Bennett took it as her cue to start talking._

"_This afternoon, for art class, we're going to learn how to make snowflakes."_

_The children cheered in agreement._

"_First, take out your scissors. Then, I will hand out two sheets of paper for each of you."_

_The students did as they were told. Mrs Bennett turned her back on her students while she went to fetch the white papers in the cupboard._

"_Have you ever made snowflakes?" Laura Madison whispered._

_Temperance looked up from her desk._

"_No." Temperance replied, honestly. "You?"_

_Laura nodded proudly._

"_My mother showed me how. I'll make the most prettiest snowflake in the class."_

_Temperance snorted._

"_No, I'll make the best snowflake."_

"_Nuh-uh. And you know why? Because you suck in art."_

"_No, I don't." Temperance replied, offended._

"_Yes, you are. You might be the best in the math or science or english and you might be teacher's pet but you're not good at art. You suck."_

_Temperance was about to reply when her teacher set down two sheets of paper on her desk. She thanked her._

"_Teacher's pet." She heard Laura whisper._

_She simply ignored the child._

_Minutes later, Temperance stared in amazement at the most beautiful paper snowflake she had ever seen. She watched as her teacher held out the fruit of her labor proudly in front of her._

"_Okay, class. Now it's your turn. Show me what you can do."_

_Inspired by the beauty of her teacher's snowflake, Temperance hurriedly grabbed her paper and folded it the way her teacher had just showed them. Grabbing her scissors, she carefully began to carve her snowflake._

_Every now and then, she glanced at the girl sitting beside her. Laura didn't seem to have any difficulties carving her snowflake. Temperance stared at hers and wondered what it would look like the second she unfolded her paper. She carved more shapes._

_Soon, Temperance was finished. She looked in sweet anticipation at the carved paper in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly unfolded it._

_Two strands of paper stuck together. Temperance frowned. Carefully, she freed one of them from its prison. _

"_Tempe, look at my snowflake!"_

_The voice of Laura startled her and Temperance ripped the fragile paper. _

"_Look what you made me do." Temperance said, accusingly to her comrade._

"_Hey, I didn't do anything." Laura replied before glancing briefly at the broken snowflake. "You destroyed it on your own."_

_Laura snickered quietly as she turned back to her own snowflake.

* * *

_

And when her teacher had asked the whole class to hang their snowflakes on the window, Temperance had refused. Her second attempt at making a beautiful snowflake had failed once again and, embarrassed, she had thrown them in the garbage while her teacher had her back turned.

Too lost in her mind, Temperance barely even registered sitting down in the school gymnasium. The voices of the hundred of parents gathered is what startled her back to reality. She heard her parnter chuckle beside her.

"What?" She snapped.

The tensing of Booth's jaw told her she had hurt his feelings. She apologized as the lights in the gym dimmed.

"Let's just watch the show." Booth replied, staring ahead of him.

The gym was plunged into the darkness before a spotlight illuminated the stage. Two children of about eight stepped out from the backstage.

"A long time ago, in the town of Nazareth, lived a young woman named Mary. Mary did her chores, was kind to others, and loved God very much. She was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a carpenter." The young girl started.

A young girl stepped out from behind the curtain and began sweeping around the stage. Booth smiled. This was cute.

"One day, while Mary was at home cleaning her room, an angel suddenly appeared. Before Mary could say anything the angel told Mary that she was favored by God, and that God was with her." The young boy continued.

An angel appeared and pretended to talk to young Mary.

"Mary was surprised. She was trying not to be afraid, but she had never seen an angel before. After all, Mary was just a regular lady like you or I. Why was this angel visiting her? What did the angel want?" The young girl added.

"The angel quickly tried to reassure Mary."

"Do not be afraid!" the angel said. "God has found favor with you. You will have a baby boy, and are to give him the name Jesus."

Booth glanced over at his partner who seemed lost in her thoughts. He was pretty sure she was analysing everything the children were saying so, when they would be back in the SUV, she would be able to pinpoint every incorrect detail of the story. He sighed, convinced it was what she was going to do. Couldn't she just enjoy herself?

The sketch eventually finished and Booth clapped loudly. Temperance turned to face him.

"Why are you clapping? Your son wasn't even in this play."

Booth sighed.

"Because, Bones. It's what people do when they go see a play. Even you should know that."

Temperance simply shrugged.

The spotlight illuminated the stage once again as a whole class of what seemed to be like the fourth grade stepped into the light. Four children stepped up to microphones who had been added to the stage. The music started and a young girl began to sing.

"Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now am found  
Was blind, but now I see."

Temperance stared in amazement at the little girl. She couldn't believe that, at such a young age, the child was able to sing that well. She felt the hair on her arm stand and goosebumps appeared. Her eyes never left the little girl even after her solo was over and a japanese girl began to sing Rudolph in her native tongue.

"Wasn't the little girl amazing?" Temperance whispered, turning to her partner.

"I know." Booth replied. "I got goosebumps."

"I know. Me too."

Booth raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Temperance turned her attention back to the choir.

It was after Feliz Navidad, the german version of Oh Christmas Tree and a choir version of Holy Night that the fourth grade class of Mr. Binns exited the stage.

The fourth grade was immediately followed by the sixth grade class of Ms Lucy White with the play: The Crossword Puzzle.

Temperance stared as a girl with brown hair, green eyes and freckles appeared on stage. Braids fell on both side of her face and Temperance guessed that the eleven-year-old was supposed to play a young child. The ressemblance between the young girl and herself at eleven was apparent and left her shocked.

"I need some help with my homework." The boy said, letting out a long sigh.

"Sure honey, what do you need?" The girl playing his mother replied.

"I have to finish this Christmas crossword puzzle but I'm stuck on one question.

How many reindeer have pulled Santa's sleigh?"

"That's an easy one -- eight." Another boy replied,

"Eight?" The sister replied.

Temperance shivered. Even her voice sounded the same as hers.

* * *

"_You all know that this school, the school has decided to organize a Christmas play to raise money to give to families who are not as lucky as we are. Now, every class in the school has to come up with a little skit, a play or some kind of presentation for the show. Any suggestions?"_

_Temperance listened quietly as shouts erupted from around the class. Some wanted a play, a few wanted a choir, one even suggested they make a short movie. Temperance said nothing. Nobody would like her idea anyway._

"_We'll vote. Who wants to do a skit?"_

_Hands shot to the air. A smile tugged at the teacher's lips._

"_Who wants to do a choir?" _

_A few hands were lifted._

"_Then a skit it is. Now, I kinda already knew what you would want to do so I took the liberty of searching for a play you could all play in and I found one. It's called "Party in Santa's Workshop." Paul, would you like to pass the pile around?"_

_Paul grabbed the pile of paper his teacher had picked up from her desk and grabbed the first copy, passing the rest of the pile to his neighbor. Seconds later, everyone had a copy._

"_Now, there's enough part for everybody and I don't want anybody fighting over a character. If two of you or more want the same character, we'll just have to play "Pick a number" to decide who gets the part."_

"_Temperance should play the nerdy elf." A young boy shouted from the back of the class._

_The students laughed and Temperance felt herself blush._

_The teacher frowned._

"_David, that wasn't really nice. Please apologize to Temperance right now."_

"_Sorry." David said, only glancing briefly at Temperance._

_Temperance rolled her eyes._

"_Now, as I was about to say, we'll read through it once and then we'll decide who plays what. Agreed?"_

"_Yes." The entire class replied altogether._

"_Mary, please read Mother Claus' lines."

* * *

_

She hadn't played the nerdy elf after all. In fact, she hadn't played any part at all. She had snapped at her teacher when she had asked her which part she wanted to play. And so, on the day of the show, she had watched from the backstage as her class stepped out under the bright spotlight and played the best skit of the evening. She had held back her tears when she had seen the standing ovation the play had caused. That night, she had gone home feeling sad and lonely.

She felt something slap her arm and she turned to her partner.

"What?" She mouthed, annoyed.

Booth simply pointed at the stage. Temperance followed his gaze. The other class had been replaced by a single blonde boy. Temperance found herself smiling proudly at Parker as he walked to the front of the stage. She turned to look at her partner. A smile had spread over his face and his eyes were sparkling.

Temperance smiled herself before turning back to the stage.

"Long ago in the forest there were 3 beautiful Fir Trees. These 3 fir trees hoped that someday they would be Christmas Trees. They were very patient and each day they grew and grew." Parker said in his cute little voice.

Three children dressed as trees stepped out from the backstage. Temperance chuckled softly.

"This is too cute." Booth whispered.

Temperance nodded.

Then, to the air of "Little Tea Pot", the children began singing.

"I'm a little fir tree growing tall

Someday I'll be the best of all.

I'll go home with a family and

A Christmas Tree is what I'll be!"

"So the trees waited excitedly for a family to come and pick them for their Christmas Tree and then one day it happened! A family came to the forest!" Parker continued.

Temperance didn't know how long the play lasted. She watched in fascination as more children appeared on stage, dressed as trees and stars. She stared admiringly at Parker who was standing so courageously at the front of the stage and repeating the long script he had been given. She was amazed at how much the child had been able to memorize.

Every now and then, she threw glances over at her partner. His smile had been replaced by a grin.

She smiled as the children began to sing, once again, a song to the air of "Little Tea Pot."

"I'm a little Star from in the sky

I'll sit on the tree top way up high

I'll shine for you in my special way

And twinkle brightly on Christmas day."

"The star looked just beautiful on the little tree and now the tree felt just like a Christmas tree! In fact, he thought he was the most beautiful Christmas tree ever! Don't you think so too?"

Booth shot to his feet as he began clapping loudly. Other parents joined him and soon the entire gymnasium had gotten to their feet. The children bowed proudly on the stage, some of them jumping in happiness.

Temperance clapped. She clapped like she hadn't done in years, like she would have liked to be clapped to if she would have been in the skit in sixth grade. She grinned proudly at Parker. He looked so much like his father, she realized as she looked at him. The little boy was beaming, just like his father.

* * *

"Did you see, Dad? Did you see what I did on stage?" Parker asked excitedly as he twirled and jumped ahead of his father as they walked back to the SUV. 

"Yes, Parker." Booth replied, chuckling. "I saw you and you were really good."

"Mommy said that too." Parker replied. "What about you Tempe? Did you think I was good too?"

Temperance chuckled.

"Yes, Parker. You were good too."

She turned to her partner. Booth smiled and winked at her.

"Okay, who's up for ice cream?" Booth asked.

"Me! Me! Me!" Parker replied, jumping up and down.

"But Booth, it's freezing out here." Temperance said.

Booth wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I'll warm you up if you're too cold."

Temperance felt herself blush. She turned to face her partner and their eyes locked. Out of the blue, her heart began to pound against her chest.

"I guess we can go for some ice cream." She said in a small voice.

Booth released her.

"Then ice cream it is!"

* * *

**Hope you like it. See you soon in the next chapter! Romantic Booth in motion in the next one!**


	5. Day 4: Dinner and Skating

**A/N: Thank you for the wonderful review. Here's the promised chapter. Hope you like it. Sorry for any mistakes I might have made about New York City. I've been there once (best time I ever had in my life) but I wasn't there long enough to know Manhattan by heart.**

* * *

**Day 4 - December 21st**

They had decorated again this year. The Medico-Legal Lab was now buried under green and red sparkling garlands, white Christmas lights shined above their heads and Angela had even convinced both Cam and Dr. Goodman to put up a Christmas tree which had been set up in the artist's office. Another one had been set up in the administrative offices four floors up, all ready and waiting impatiently for the Christmas party.

Temperance groaned. With everything that had been going on lately, she had almost forgotten about the Christmas party. Booth had kept her so busy, she hadn't even had the time to get some work done here at the museum. Her editor was pressuring her for her new book, which she also hadn't had the time to work on. She sighed. She couldn't complain. Booth had awakened feelings in her she hadn't known she was able to feel anymore and, if she was honest with herself, she was having a lot of fun this year. Maybe Booth was right. Maybe Christmas wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Footsteps made her look up from the skeleton she was examining. She found her best friend walking towards her.

She watched as Angela scanned herself onto the platform and walked up to her.

"Hey Sweetie. What's up?"

"Nothing much." Temperance replied before dropping her gaze back to the body on the examination table.

"Who's that?" Angela asked, trying to be cheerful.

"Male. Aged between 20 and 25 years old. Cause of death is undetermined."

"Did Booth bring that in?"

Temperance shook her head.

"No. Booth isn't..."

She stopped in mid-sentence. She didn't know why. She didn't know why she didn't want her best friend to know that, for the past four days, she had spent some time with Booth and his son. There was something about the situation that made her feel like keeping that piece of information to herself. Anyway, Temperance already knew her best friend's possible reaction. She would squeal, grin, dance around and ask for all the minor details that, frankly, weren't that important. So she had been spending time with Booth. Who cared? They were friends, it was normal for them to see each other outside of work. Her mind told Temperance that it wasn't. She ignored it.

"Booth isn't what?" Angela asked, curious.

"He isn't working. He has Parker over so he took the entire week of vacation."

"Hmm... how do you know?"

"Booth's my partner." Temperance replied on a tone that told Angela she was stating the obvious.

Temperance looked up at her best friend and from the look on the artist's face, she immediately knew her friend had bought the reason. She went back to the skeleton.

"I tried calling you last night." Angela said, after a minute or two of silence. "You didn't answer your cellphone or your phone at home."

"I was out." Temperance replied evasively as she focused more than necessary on the back of the skull.

"Out? Where?"

"A play." Temperance answered, her eyes never leaving the body.

Temperance could feel her heart racing in her chest as she thought about the previous night. After the play, she had gone out for ice cream then had gone back to Booth's place. They had talked until past midnight when Temperance had said that it was late and that she should have gone home. Booth hadn't forced her to stay even though she was pretty sure she had seen the question in his eyes as he wished her a good night at the door.

She could feel Angela's gaze on her and she forced her expression to remain neutral.

"Sweetie, if you keep staring at the skull like that, you'll drill a whole through it."

Temperance looked up from the skeleton, annoyance flashing in her eyes.

"Sorry. So, you went to see a play?"

"Yeah."

"What was it about?"

Grabbing the skull in her hands, she examined it more closely, her attention back into professional mode. Something wasn't right about that skull.

"Christmas." Temperance replied as she twirled the skull in her hands.

"_You_ went to see a _Christmas_ play?" Angela asked, too surprised to say anything else.

"Yeah, so?"

"With Booth?"

Temperance's eyes snapped up to her friend.

"Why do you say that?"

Angela felt herself blushing. Her friend obviously didn't know about the bet going on between her and Booth.

"Oh, no reason. I mean, I just thought that if you went to see a Christmas play, it would be with Booth."

Temperance eyed her suspiciously.

"So what's wrong with the skull? You seem pretty interested in it." Angela said, hoping to change the subject.

The mention of the skull shifted Temperance back into professional mode.

"Yeah, actually, there's something weird with it. Would you mind drawing a sketch of the victim? I'd like to see if my assumptions are right before I jump to a conclusion."

"Sure thing, Sweetie." Angela replied.

* * *

"Booth, would you just let go of my arm?" Temperance said, exasperated. "I know how to walk, you know?"

But Booth didn't listen. Instead, he quickened his pace.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"It's a surprise."

Temperance sighed.

"Another one?"

Booth stopped in his tracks and spun around.

"This one I think you'll like."

Booth stared into her eyes for a second longer before breaking the eye contact.

"Come on. We don't want to be late."

"Late for what, Booth?" Temperance asked as Booth began to walk away.

"You'll see." Booth replied over his shoulder.

Temperance rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips, before going off after him.

* * *

"Why are we driving out of Washington? Booth, where are you taking me?"

Booth turned to his partner.

"Stop asking questions or I'll blindfold you."

Temperance's eyes narrowed in fake menace.

"You wouldn't dare." She said, trying to sound as menacing as she could.

Booth wriggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah? Try me."

* * *

The sun was slowly setting behind thick gray clouds, sending rays of pink and orange about the scenery. Temperance slightly shifted in her seat before slowly opening her eyes. She looked up to find Booth staring at her.

"It's about time you woke up." Booth said, teasingly. "I was starting to feel lonely."

Temperance straightened up in her seat and looked out the window. She immediately felt confused. Her surroundings were unknown to her. She frowned.

"How long have I been out?"

"Nearly three hours."

"Sorry."

Booth glanced at her.

"Don't be sorry, Bones. You were tired. You needed some sleep. It's normal."

Temperance shrugged.

"I guess."

She yawned.

"Where are we?"

"Bones, I'd like to welcome you to New York City."

Temperance's eyes grew wide as she turned back to the window.

Tall buildings greeted her view, buildings she hadn't properly noticed when she had woken up a few minutes earlier. Light snow was falling on the city and hundreds of people populated the sidewalks. Temperance looked in front of them. Cars were lined up on the street.

_Yep, that's Manhattan for you._ Temperance thought.

"You brought me to New York?" Temperance asked, surprised.

Booth chuckled but didn't reply.

"What about the dress you made me bring?"

"Oh you'll definetely need it."

"And my sweat pants?"

"That too." Booth replied as he took a right.

Temperance frowned.

Sensing her gaze, Booth turned around.

"You'll see when we get there."

Temperance rolled her eyes.

"Would you quit saying that?"

Booth chuckled.

Temperance stared out the window in silence as Booth drove through the different streets of Manhattan in search of only him knew what. Puzzled, she tried to make sense of this whole charade. She couldn't understand why she had needed to bring both sweat pants, a sweatshirt _and_ a dress. And why had Booth brought her to New York on a Tuesday night? Did he plan to make them spend the night here? Impossible. He would have told her to bring PJs as well. Then what were they doing here?

On West 48th Street, Booth pulled up to a garage parking lot. Temperance frowned but didn't say anything as Booth paid for parking then drove around the lot to find a place to park the SUV. When he finally found a spot, he turned off the ignition and turned to her.

"We'll need to change because I doubt they'll agree to let us in dressed like this."

"What do you mean?"

Booth turned and opened his door.

"It's a pretty classy place."

* * *

Classy wasn't the word when Temperance laid eyes on the scenery of the restaurant. She barely even registered walking up to her table and even less sitting down. Her eyes scanned the entire room. Several other couples and families were already seated, all of them dressed really nice. Temperance looked down at her own dress. Now she could understand why Booth had wanted her to wear it.

"Like it?"

Temperance turned to her partner. She was surprised, when she look in his eyes, to find something she had barely ever saw before. He almost looked scared as he stared back at her. Temperance felt herself melt.

"It's perfect, Booth."

Booth let out a sigh of relief. Temperance stared tenderly at him.

"You deserved something nice, Bones."

"This is more than nice."

She turned to look out the window. From where they were, on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center, Temperance was able to get a wide view of Manhattan. Millions of lights breathtakingly shined into the night. Cars, like little dots, slowly made their way down the streets. Yes, this was more than nice.

"I'm starving." Booth said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's eat, shall we?"

Temperance turned back to her partner and smiled. Booth smiled back.

* * *

"Now what?" Temperance asked as they waited for the elevator that would bring them back down to the main floor.

"Well, we have about forty minutes to get changed, go back to the car, drop our stuff off and head to our next destination."

"Which is?" Temperance asked as they stepped into an elevator.

"A surprise, Bones."

Temperance chuckled softly, shaking her head. Booth smiled at her.

The walk back to the SUV was quiet. Even when they reached the vehicle and that Booth threw their bags into the backseats and grabbed another one, no questions and no words were exchanged. Yet, neither one of them felt the need to fill it. Only when they left the garage that Temperance inquired about the bag's content. Booth simply told her to wait just a few more minutes.

She saw the Christmas lights and immediately knew what Booth had planned to end what she had to admit was a perfect evening. From where they were, she could see the tall Christmas tree standing proudly, casting light down to the skating rink under him. She smiled. Booth really _did_ have a romantic side.

They sat down on a bench and Booth slowly opened the bag. A smile tugged at Temperance's lips as he took out the pair of skates. _Her_ pair of skates.

"Where did you get those?" Temperance asked, slightly surprised.

"Angela." Booth replied as he handed them to her.

Temperance shook her head. She should have known.

"She said that you haven't been skating in years."

Temperance nodded.

"I can't even remember the last time I went. I think it was when I first started working at the Jeffersonian." Temperance replied as she took off her boots and pulled one of her skates on.

"I try to come here at least once a year. Last year, I brought Parker. He simply loved it."

"Why didn't you bring him today?"

Booth turned to his partner and locked eyes with her.

"Because I wanted it to be just the two of us."

Temperance swallowed, currently hating the effect Booth was having on her. There was just something about tonight. Usually, she would have been able to resist his gaze, resist giving him to the temptation of kissing him. Tonight, she simply didn't feel strong.

She broke the eye contact and brought her gaze back to her skates.

Seconds later, Booth was standing up.

"Come on." He said, holding out his hand.

Grabbing it, Temperance let herself be pull up.

* * *

"So why do you hate Christmas?" Booth asked as they began to skate around.

Temperance frowned.

"What makes you think that I _hate_ Christmas?"

"Well maybe because you don't celebrate it."

Temperance sighed.

"Most people think that I don't like Christmas because my parents disappeared around that time. It's not the only reason."

Booth turned to her, surprised. What else could make her hate Christmas?

"That play we went to see last night brought back a lot of memories for me about my time in elementary school. I remembered stuff I had forgotten."

"Pushed down, you mean? Block out?"

"Booth, you know how much I hate psychology."

"Sorry."

"_Anyway_, I guess I've never really liked Christmas. Every time we'd do some Christmasie at school, I always ended up being rejected. In sixth grade, I really wanted to be in a play. I wanted to be Mother Claus. I _really_ wanted that part. But Christina MacPherson got it. My teacher wanted me to play an elf. I refused. People laughed when my teached picked Christina. They mocked me.

In high school, it was different. We didn't have to do anything for Christmas so I started liking it again. Besides, I was with my family and that was all that mattered to me. Then my parents disappeared and I began hating Christmas again."

"I'm really sorry you had to go through this, Bones."

Temperance shrugged.

"Well it's not big deal, really. I got past it."

"Still. Well Bones, I'll make you like Christmas again, I promise."

"Why would you do that?"

She felt Booth's hand grab hers. Her heart skipped a beat as she forgot how to breathe.

"Because you're my friend and my partner and I really care about you."

Temperance looked up at her friend and smiled.

Around them, other skaters zoomed past them but Temperance didn't see them. A warm feeling began spreading through her and it wasn't until she climbed into her comfy bed, six hours later, that the cold feeling returned.

* * *

**Someone's in looooooooooooove:-)**


	6. Day 5: A Christmas Party

**A/N: Sorry if I made you guys wait. Here's another fluffy chapter. See, no angst in this story! Simply fluff. :-)**

**Warning: Tiny warning for a tiny season 2 spoiler.**

* * *

**Day 5 - A Christmas Party**

She knew she should have been going home to change for the party but she needed to finish her report. Cam had demanded, somewhat rudely this afternoon, that she finished it before she left for the night. It would take her hours, the fractures she had found on the victim's remains too many and too complex to sum up in a simple report. This was, no doubt, the weirdest case she was asked to work on.

Footsteps outside her office reached her ears but she didn't bother to look up. She knew it was probably only Angela coming to check up on her. She continued typing.

_Left wrist: broken in three places. The…_

"Here's the folder you asked me." Angela said as she dropped the purple folder on her friend's desk.

Temperance looked down at the file. Even before she opened the folder, she knew the information she would find inside. Booth would call it his gut feeling. Her reasoning had been done by logic.

"23-year-old Caucasian male." Angela continued. "The abnormalities you found on the skull come from…"

"Down Syndrome." Temperance cut in as she opened the file and stared at the young man's picture. "I know."

Angela sighed.

"Who could do this to a person with Down Syndrome?"

Temperance shrugged.

"Did Booth drop this off?" Temperance asked, as she quickly went through the victim's file.

"Yes. This afternoon. He also mentioned something about needing to see Cam. He went in her office. They talked for like an hour or something."

Temperance's eyes snapped up from the file, her heart racing in her chest. Booth had gone to talk to Cam? For an hour? He had told her the previous day that they had broken up. What was he doing talking to her?

_Don't panic, Brennan._ She told herself. _You don't even know what happened._

"Why did Booth want to talk to Cam?" Temperance asked, hoping that her voice didn't betray the emotions running through her at the moment.

Angela shrugged.

"No clue. He simply asked me if I knew where Cam was before disappearing towards her office before I even had the chance to answer him. So, are you going to the Christmas party this year?"

Temperance nodded but remained quiet. She didn't feel like telling her best friend that Booth had in fact asked her to go with him. She didn't want anybody to know. As the fact that they'd find out the second Booth and her walked in the door dawned on her, she began dreading tonight's event.

"Are you going with Booth?"

Temperance frowned.

"Why all these questions about Booth, Angela?"

"What do you mean?" Angela asked as she shifted from one foot to the other.

_Uh oh_, she thought to herself. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to explain the bet to her friend.

"It's just that every time I tell you I'm doing something lately, you always ask me if it's with Booth. Coincidentally, it always turns out that it _is _with Booth. I just want to know what's going on."

"Nothing is going on, Brenn." Angela replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

She hated lying to her friend but this time she needed to. Her friend could never find out that her and Booth had placed a bet on her. She'd be way too devastated.

"It's just that you two have playing around each other long enough that now I'm beginning to see a change in your relationship. I just thought that maybe you two had finally realized that you were more than just friends and partners and were taking your relationship to the next level."

"There's no next level for us, Angela." Temperance replied, a weird feeling spreading through her. "We're just friends."

Friends. She hated that word.

"If you say so, Sweetie."

"I am saying so."

"Okay. Anyway, I have to get ready for the party tonight." Angela said as she began to walk away. "See you later tonight."

Temperance simply nodded. She waited until Angela had left her office before closing the door. She leaned against and closed her eyes, trying desperately to calm the racing of her heart. It had hurt. Telling Angela that Booth and her were just friends had hurt. But why? It wasn't supposed to be that way. She wasn't supposed to be falling in love with her partner. That stuff only happened in books. Besides, Booth was only being a good friend, making sure she wasn't alone on Christmas. It was all there was to it. Nothing more.

She couldn't help but think back at the previous day.

* * *

"_We always eat at the Diner or at Wong Foo's. I just thought that this would be a nice change." Booth said as he looked up from his menu._

"_It is, Booth. Thanks. It was nice of you."_

"_You deserve something nice, Bones."_

_At his words, she had looked up from her own menu, making Booth look back down, his cheeks slightly reddened. She had smiled, tenderly, at him before bringing her gaze back down._

_They had ordered and talked, mostly about work. Then, he had begun to talk about Parker._

"_He loves you very much, Bones. Every time he comes home, he asks me if you're there. I think he thinks we're a couple."_

_Temperance had chuckled._

"_He was pretty good in that play the other day."_

_Booth had nodded._

"_He was very happy that you came to see him. The next morning, he kept talking about you and how he wanted you to be with us for Christmas."_

"_How come he's with you for Christmas this year?"_

_Booth had taken a sip of his water._

"_Rebecca is out of town for this… thing. I don't know even know what it is. She told me to take Parker over the holidays. It's the first time I'll get to see him for two weeks straight."_

_He had gone about his son for another twenty minutes. She had simply listened. She had listened intently as he talked about the love of his life. Her eyes had never left his face. As he talked, she examined his features carefully. For the first time since she had met him, she felt notice the small wrinkles on the side of his eyes when he smiled broadly. She found fatigue in his eyes and immediately realized that his eyes hadn't been sparkling like before lately. It seemed as though a shadow had passed in front of him, engulfing him in its arms. She immediately found herself feeling sorry for him. She should have been more careful. He was there for her so much that sometimes she forgot that he himself had needs. She was his partner. It was up to her to make sure he was okay, just like he did with her. She had been selfish._

_She felt his hand on top of hers._

"_Are you okay, Bones?"_

_He must have seen the guilt in her eyes. She pulled her hand away, immediately missing the contact of his skin on hers._

"_Yeah. I'm more than okay. How about you?"_

_And he had gone on, for another twenty minutes, about how stressed he was about work and the holidays.

* * *

Unconsciously, Temperance began to rub the hand Booth had taken in his. It felt as though she could still feel his burning touch. _

A loud knock behind her startled her. Her eyes snapped open as her heart skipped a beat.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and opened the door.

She fought the urge to simply jump in his arms. Instead, she greeted him with a nod and a smile.

"Hey." She said, feeling a bit shy.

Shy?

"Hey."

They simply stood at her door, neither one saying anything. Their eyes locked and Temperance found herself wishing he would stop looking at her this way. There was something in his eyes, a passion that hadn't been there two days before. She had seen it at the skating rink and was seeing it again at the moment.

"Are you ready?" He finally asked, after a few seconds of silence.

"Ready?"

"For the party." Booth replied, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Oh, yeah, right. The party."

Booth smiled.

"I just have to stop by my place to change."

"I'll drive you."

"I can drive myself, Booth."

Booth sighed.

"I'm offering you a ride. Take it."

It was Temperance's turn to sigh.

"Fine."

* * *

He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. The black dress she was wearing reminded him of the similar dress that she worn in Las Vegas the year before. She had curled her hair and applied subtle make-up that made her look radiant. He had felt his face grow really warm the second she had stepped in the living room and he had been pretty sure his knees would be giving out under him the second he began to walk. Something his therapist had told him the previous year had come to his mind. 

"You have the hots for your partner."

He had denied it then but today, as he watched all heads turn in his partner's direction and felt proud that she was at the party with _him,_ he knew he couldn't deny it. He was falling, and quickly, for his partner and he knew, at that instant, that the bet couldn't go on.

Excusing himself from his date, he joined Angela who was busy talking to Hodgins and Zach. He gently took her arm.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked as he dragged her away.

"I guess I have no choice." Angela replied, sarcastically. "What's up, handsome?"

"Don't call me that." Booth warned. "It's about Bones. I can't go on with the bet."

"Why not?" Angela replied. "It's not like she's ever going to find out."

"But what if she does?" Booth argued. "If she does find out, she'll be so mad she won't even want to talk to me anymore."

"Hey, it was your turn." Angela said, defensively. "I just didn't disagree with you."

"I know but things changed since then."

"Things changed since four days ago?"

"Yes. They did. Four days ago, if someone would have told there was a possibility I would lose my partner forever, I would have been sad, yes, but I would have come to accept it later on. But now, today, I don't think I can."

Angela gasped.

"You've fallen in love with her!" She squealed.

"Yes. I've fallen in love with her."

Angela stared at her friend in shocked. To have him admit such thing so openly was surprising. She certainly hadn't expected that from him.

"I told Bones I had broken up with Cam. I hadn't but I was planning on to when I told her. Then, when we were in New York yesterday…"

"You brought Brennan to New York?"

"Angela, focus please."

"Sorry."

"As I was saying, when we were in New York, I began to realize that the city was much more fun when I was with Bones than when I was with Cam. I broke up with her this morning."

Angela nodded, suddenly understanding why he had needed to talk to her boss so badly.

"I see."

"But I think I really got her into the Christmas spirit. She listened to Christmas music on the way here."

Angela smiled.

"So I guess you win."

Booth nodded.

The two of them turned around to find Temperance staring at them from a distance. They waved. Temperance waved back, slightly frowning.

"I think you better go back to your date before she thinks something is going on." Angela said, winking at him.

Squeezing his arm gently, she walked away.

They met halfway through the room. Booth couldn't take his eyes off of her as she stood in front of him. His hands felt sweaty, his knees shook lightly and he was pretty sure his heart was going to pound out of his chest. But he smiled. He smiled because now there was no denying. He smiled because, at that moment, he knew exactly what he wanted for Christmas.

A loud gasp startled them. They looked around to find all of the Jeffersonian staff staring at them, eyes round, smiles tugging at their lips.

"What's going on?" Temperance asked.

A squeal behind them made them turn around.

"Mistletoe!" Angela squealed as she clapped her hands together.

Temperance's eyes grew round and Booth felt himself blush.

_Uh oh_. They thought simultaneously.

"You two have to kiss." Angela announced, excitedly.

As their colleagues began to chant the word "kiss", Booth and Temperance turned to each other. Booth felt his face growing even warmer and red was starting to appear on his partner's cheeks. Uncomfortable, Booth slowly leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the cheek. Cries of protest echoed off the walls of the room.

"On the lips, you guys. It's tradition." Angela said.

"Seems like we have no choice." Booth said, lowering his voice.

"I guess not."

Slowly, he leaned forward again but stopped only millimeters from her lips. Her breath was warm on his lips and he found himself shivering.

Finally, after a split second of hesitation, Booth pressed his lips against her. In an instant, he had pulled her flush against him, all the years of tension finally melting into a kiss. He felt her arms snake themselves around his neck, pulling him even closer. Everything around them disappeared. The gasps of the crowd fell on deaf ears as the kiss continued. When they finally broke apart, Booth rested his forehead against her, panting mildly.

"Wow." Angela said, speechless. "That had to be the hottest mistletoe kiss _ever_."

The two partners opened their eyes and stared at each other. The reality that they had kissed in front of the entire staff of the museum slowly dawned on them. As they pulled apart, both of them averted the gaze of their coworkers, their face both flushed from the kiss and the embarrassment of their actions.

* * *

**Sorry, just couldn't resist the kiss under the mistletoe. Hope you liked the chapter. Only two left.**


	7. Day 6: Memories of Past Christmases

**A/N: Well I'm finally back after a week of silence. I was hoping to finish this story before Christmas but my boss decided that 46 hours of work and two exams were more important than a Bones fanfic. Anyway, I'm back now. Hopefully you will like this chapter. This story is almost over. :-(**

* * *

Temperance groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her muscles ached, she felt sore all over and her head was currently pounding. The sun suddenly seemed too bright and she closed her eyes only to snap them back open a moment later. Slowly, she examined the room she was currently in. The walls were light blue, unlike the ones in her bedroom which she had kept white. There were no drapes hanging from the window and the bed seemed smaller. Sitting up, she looked down at the sheets. A weird sponge dressed in pants stared back at her. Rubbing the sleep off her face, she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

She remembered going to the Christmas party. She remembered the kiss. She shuddered. The kiss. They had _kissed_. They had kissed in front of all of their colleagues. Everybody had witnessed Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth's first kiss.

_Stupid mistletoe._ Temperance thought to herself.

She smiled as she thought of how they had both reacted to it. It had been more than she thought it was going to be. The way their bodies had fit so perfectly seemed almost too surreal to be true. The way his strong arms had held close, crushed her against his body, sent shivers down her spine as she thought about it now. She had felt safe, felt like she had been supposed to be there.

_Stop it, Brennan. Stop being so over-romantic, it's disgusting._

Then they had avoided each other for a while. Booth had gone over to talk to Hodgins and Temperance had walked off in the opposite direction with Angela and a new technician named Sophia. After that, nothing. Blank.

She did remember drinking but now, as she sat in what she hoped with all her heart was Parker's bed, she wished she hadn't drunk that much.

A noise from somewhere in the house reached her ears. She groaned as the pounding in her head only intensified. Slowly, she flung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

She walked, unsteadily, out of the bedroom and sighed in relief when she immediately recognized the hallway. Booth's hallway. At least she hadn't made the stupid mistake of going home with another man.

The noise had come from the kitchen. Passing the grandfather clock in the living room, she immediately realized that it was past noon. She was surprised. She barely ever slept later than nine o'clock.

She quietly stepped in the kitchen.

"Hey." She said, her thick voice quivering.

She cleared her throat, making Booth look up from the sink.

"Hey."

_Wow! He looks like hell._ Temperance thought to himself.

"How are you feeling?" Temperance asked as she opened the fridge to take some orange juice.

"Like crap. You?"

"Same." She replied, giving him a half-hearted smile. "What happened last night?"

Booth chuckled.

"We got really drunk." He replied as he opened the cupboard and began placing plates on the shelves, making them clink together.

Temperance grimaced.

"Do you have to make so much noise?"

Booth didn't reply.

"Who droves us home?"

Booth smiled at the word 'home'. Did she really consider his place like home? Had she even realized what she had just said? He turned to face her and noticed how trashy she looked in her dishevelled clothes, her tangled hair and no make-up. He also realized that he didn't care. He still found her pretty and he was pretty sure he could get used to seeing her like this every day. He smiled.

"What?" Temperance asked, annoyed.

Booth said nothing.

"What?" She repeated. "Booth, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry." Booth said as he snapped back to reality.

Then, turning back to the dishes, he replied to her previous question.

"Zach and Angela brought us back in our respective cars. Hodgins followed behind in his own car to drive them back."

"You remember all of this?" Temperance asked after swallowing her entire glass of orange juice.

"Yes, why? Don't you?"

Temperance shook her head. Booth simply nodded, hurt flashing in his eyes. She didn't remember.

"We... I mean, we didn't..."

"No." Booth replied, clearing his throat. "We didn't. I wouldn't have anyway."

Temperance nodded, grateful.

"Thanks, Booth."

"You're welcome."

Temperance's stomach growled. Booth raised an eyebrow in mockery.

"Hungry, Bones?"

His partner rolled her eyes. He chuckled.

"There's leftover pancakes in the fridge if you'd like."

As she began to fix herself some breakfast, Booth watched her roam around in his kitchen. She had spent so much time here in the last few days, she was beginning to know where everything was. A smile tugged at his lips as he realized he was enjoying watching her make breakfast but his smile disappeared when memories of the previous night flashed before his eyes.

* * *

_The muffled sound of music reached his ears as Booth unsteadily made his way back to the party room. His vision was slightly blurry and he knew right away that he had drunk too much. He would never be able to drive home._

_He glanced down at his watch which showed midnight. Maybe he should just ask someone to drive him home. Temperance, perhaps, hadn't drunk tonight. He frowned as he realized he hadn't seen her all night. _

_He was about to step back into the party room when the double doors swung open and Temperance came staggering out. He felt her collide with his chest and instinctively held out his hands to steady her. Moving the hair out her face, he immediately knew that he'd have to find someone else to drive him back home._

"_Booth." Temperance slurred. "I'm so ha...ppy to see you. I missed you."_

_Before he even knew what was going on, Booth felt a pair of lips on top of his. He froze, too shocked to react. Temperance pulled away and began to giggle._

"_Everybody saw us kiss, Booth. Everybody. The entire staff of the Jeffersonian saw it. It's not how it was supposed to happen."_

_Booth frowned. What was she talking about?_

"_It wasn't supposed to happen that way." Temperance repeated as she let go of her partner and slid down the wall beside the door._

_She fell heavily on the floor. Booth joined her._

"_It was supposed to be more private, more... romantic."_

"_Well what's not romantic about the mistletoe, Bones?" Booth asked, teasingly._

_Temperance slapped him playfully._

"_People weren't supposed to see it. We were supposed to be alone. You would tell me that you love me and I would tell you that I love you too and then we would have kissed. It's how it's supposed to be."_

_Whether it was from the amount of alcohol he had sucked into his body or simply because his partner wasn't making any sense, Booth was confused. He wasn't quite sure what his friend was talking about. A first kiss was supposed to happen in particular way? Since when? Every first kiss was different. Sure, he hadn't expected their first kiss to happen in front of all their colleagues but it didn't mean it hadn't been special._

_He was about to turn and tell her so when he felt a pair of arms circle his. Seconds later, Temperance was nuzzling herself against him._

"_I love you, Booth."_

_Booth's voice caught in his throat. Just then, he looked up to find Angela staring down at them.

* * *

_

"Booth, I asked you a question."

Booth shook his head as he snapped back to reality for the second time in five minutes. He turned his attention to his partner who was eyeing him suspiciously. Booth felt himself blush under her gaze, her beautiful, blue gaze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?"

"I asked you if you had syrup, for the pancakes."

"Uh yeah. Second door, first shelf."

"Thank you." Temperance said as she turned back to the cupboards. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"Nothing." Booth lied.

Temperance sat down at the table. Booth followed her. He watched her in silence as she began to eat.

"Where's Parker?" Temperance asked as if suddenly remembering she hadn't seen him.

"Rebecca's parents, remember? They babysat him last night."

"Right." Temperance replied. "I forgot."

Another minute of silence passed.

"So what do you have planned for us today?"

Her question took him by surprise. He hadn't thought about today. In fact, he hadn't planned anything. He hadn't thought that Temperance would have slept over, moreover that she would be excited to see what he had in store for her. He hadn't known that she had enjoyed the little attention he had been paying her over the last few days. She certainly hadn't shown it. Or had he simply missed it?

"Uh actually... I didn't have anything planned today."

A wave of guilt washed over him as he saw the disappointed look in her eyes.

"Oh. Okay." Temperance replied, looking down at her breakfast.

She felt stupid. How could she have believed that Booth wouldn't have better things to do two days before Christmas than to spend time with her? He probably had loads of chores and stuff to do. Did he host a party for Christmas? Did he go to his parents' for dinner? Temperance quickly realized she didn't even know what Booth actually did for Christmas. One thing was sure, he probably didn't need a Christmas killer like her.

"Well I just assumed that you would be sick and tired of me by now." Booth quickly added, jokingly.

A small smile tugged at Temperance's lips.

"I was planning on wrapping presents today. Feel free to stay and help me if you'd like. I have to get everything done before Parker gets here. Mona is bringing him over at three."

"And Mona is?"

"Rebecca's mother. You'll see, she's really nice."

Temperance nodded.

"So, what do you say? Want to help me wrap some presents?"

* * *

Temperance giggled as she tried to wrap a triangle-shaped box but only managing to rip the red and white thin paper. 

"I haven't done that in such a long time." She said as she tried to tape the wrapping paper.

Booth smiled as he watched her.

"You're pretty good for someone who hasn't done that in a while."

"Thanks." Temperance replied, looking up briefly at her partner.

Temperance felt her heart beat faster. She smiled inwardly. She was beginning to like the effect Booth was having on her.

"So, how do you celebrate Christmas?" Temperance asked as she pushed the box aside and grabbed another one of Parker's presents, this one in a more conventional form.

"Well," Booth began, grabbing a present himself, "on Christmas Eve, I go to my parents' house. All my family is there, my brother, my sister and my nieces and nephews. We have this big dinner, we exchanged gifts, we sing songs. It's pretty cool. Parker loves it there. I usually get him for Christmas Eve. I think Rebecca actually enjoyed our parties because it's the only time that she'd allow Parker to be with me before Christmas."

Booth paused for a split second.

"The party usually lasts until at least midnight. Then we "race" home to make sure that Parker is in bed before Santa comes. He's always so scared that Santa will skip our house because we're not there or because he's not asleep."

Temperance smiled.

"Depending on if Parker is with me or not, I put the presents under the tree right after Parker's asleep. If not, I wait until morning. Then, when Parker gets here or wakes up, it's straight to the Christmas tree. We unwrap the presents, then we do our stockings and then I cook this big breakfast for my little guy. Then we spend the rest of the day playing with the presents I got him for Christmas."

"Sounds like fun."

"How do you used to do it? With your parents, I mean?"

Booth looked up at his partner, hoping he hadn't struck a chord. But Temperance smiled at him as she began to think back to her childhood Christmas memories.

"Most of my friends unwrapped their presents on the 25th at midnight but we didn't. Our neighbors had parties but we preferred staying alone, just the four of us. We would all sit down in front of the fireplace, Dad would grab a Christmas book and he'd read to us. I remember, once, he read us "A Christmas Carol". It took us three hours. But my dad was pretty good at entertaining. The three hours simply flew by. Then, we'd go to bed around eleven. I always tried staying up late because I wanted to prove, both to myself and my parents, that Santa Claus didn't exist. I'd wait until my parents were gone to bed before I sneaked back in the living room and sat down in my father's chair. But every year, I always ended up waking up in my bed, with a note on my nightstand that said "There is no use trying to stay up late for me". It was signed Love Santa every time.

I'd run downstairs to find the living room bathing in presents. My parents would lit up the Christmas tree, we would all sit down together and unwrap our presents. Then we'd eat breakfast before getting ready to go to my grandfather's house. My dad never wanted him to be alone on Christmas. My grandmother died when I was just a baby and my mother's parents died in a fire just after Russ' birth. Both my parents are only children so we didn't get to go to big family parties. So, every year, it was only just us four together. Back then, I always thought that that was how it was going to be. Obviously, it didn't turn out that way."

Booth smiled sadly at her.

"Well this year, it's going to be different."

Temperance frowned.

"How come?"

Booth scooted over to be beside her and grabbed her hands in his. When she didn't pull them away, Booth went on.

"Because this year, you'll be with me."

Squeezing her hands gently, Booth let go and went back to his original spot, across from her.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?" Booth replied, focusing on the present in front of him.

"Well you've been awfully nice with me lately, bringing me shopping and to your son's play. You even brought me to New York for a very romantic dinner and skating at the Rockefeller Center. I just want to know why you're doing all of that."

Booth sighed.

"Because I didn't want you to be all alone for Christmas again. Christmas should be spent with family, not on our own."

"But I don't have a family."

"Bones, remember when I told you there was more than just one kind of family?"

Temperance nodded.

"Well, welcome to your second family."

A smile tugged at Temperance's lips and she found herself fighting back some tears. Booth considered her family. Never, since her parents had disappeared, had anyone treating her this way. Everyone had simply given up on her. But Booth hadn't. And now, he considered her part of his family.

"So, what do you say? Will you come with me to my parents' tomorrow night?"

Temperance blinked back some tears and swallowed.

"Yes."

* * *

**Whoa! It doesn't even look like she just agreed to go to his parents' house with him. Seems more like she agreed to marry him. Sorry 'bout that! **


	8. Day 7: Secrets Revealed

**A/N: One more chapter guys:-(****

* * *

**

Day 7: Secrets Revealed

The house was already buzzing with activity when Temperance walked out of Booth's bedroom. She wrapped her bathroom carefully around herself and rubbed her eyes as she walked down the hallway. From the kitchen, she could already hear Parker telling his father, for the second time since he had come back, what he had done at his grandparents' house the previous day. Temperance found herself smiling as she listened to the chirpy voice. She never understood how children were able to start jumping up and down the second they were awake. She, herself, didn't even feel ready to start her day until she had had her first coffee, and even sometimes her second one. She guessed it had something to do with a chemical reaction due to coffee. Her body expected coffee in order to wake up and wasn't able to perform the task of waking up without it.

The voice stopped the second Temperance walked in the kitchen.

"Tempe!" Parker cried as he jumped down his chair and ran to the anthropologist.

Before she even knew what was happening, Temperance felt a pair of arms wrap itself around her legs. She instinctively brought her own arms around the small body.

"Hey Parker."

"Tempe, are you coming with us to see Grandma Patty and Grandpa Joseph?" Parker asked as he pulled his head back to look up at his father's friend.

"Yes I am."

"YAY!" Parker cried as he let go of Temperance and turned to his father. "Dad, did you hear that? Tempance is coming with us!"

"I know." Booth replied, chuckling softly. "I heard. Now, come eat breakfast. We have a lot to do before we leave."

Parker nodded before running back to the table. Climbing onto his chair, he grabbed his fork and stuck it in his food.

"I'm eating pancakes." The five-year-old announced proudly.

"I see that."

She turned to her partner.

"Again?"

"Yeah well it's only thing I could get him to eat."

"You do know that it's not good for him to eat too much sugar, especially for breakfast?"

"Yes, I _do_ know, Bones. He's my son. I've been raising him for five years." Booth replied, annoyed.

Temperance was about to reply when she caught sight of Parker leaving the table. She pointed at the young boy.

"Hey Buddy, where are you going?" Booth asked, frowning.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Parker replied.

He was about to walk out of the kitchen when Booth called him back.

"How come you're not hungry anymore?"

"Tempe said pancakes is not good for me. You were fighting."

Booth and Temperance exchanged looks.

"No no, we weren't fighting, Parker." Booth said, walking up to his son and picking him up. "You see, grown-ups, sometimes, see things differently and sometimes they don't agree on something."

Booth set his son back down in his chair.

"Temperance thinks that you have been eating too many pancakes this week. I didn't see it that way. But it doesn't mean that it's bad for you to eat some. You won't get sick if you finsih your breakfast."

Parker squealed as Booth tickled the little boy's stomach.

"Come on, finish up your breakfast and then we'll go pick up Uncle Jared and Micheal at their house."

Parker nodded.

"So I can eat pancakes?" The boy asked in a small voice.

"You can eat your pancakes." Booth replied, ruffling his son's hair.

In an instant, Parker's smile was back on his face.

Booth walked over to his partner who was busy fixing herself some breakfast. He leaned closer to her, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine.

"We have to be careful what we say around Parker from now on." He said in a low voice. "He might take us seriously."

Temperance nodded.

"Why are you picking up your brother and your nephew?"

"Jared was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. He won't be able to drive for a while."

"What about the mother? Can't she drive?"

"They're divorced. Mike's mother wants nothing to do with him or my brother. It's a very complicated situation and I'd appreciate if you didn't ask any questions on that subject at dinner tonight. My parents are very touchy when it comes to that subject. Both my parents simply loved Karen, Mike's mother. Mom was heartbroken when Karen left. My dad simply shut her out. He pretends she never existed. So Karen is kind of taboo at my parents' house. Mike doesn't even remember her and we prefer keeping it that way."

"Wow!"

"What?" Booth asked as he watched Temperance go from the stove to the counter with a plate of eggs.

"Well it's just that I always pictured your family to be... well... perfect. The way you always talked about it sure made it seem like that."

"No family's perfect, Bones." Booth replied as he stuck two slices of bread in the toast. "My family has its problems and yours did too. There's probably a lot of stuff your parents did that you didn't know about."

"That's true." Temperance replied in a cool voice.

"Hey." Booth said, bringing his finger under her chin and lifting it slightly under she was looking at him. "I want no old grudges ruining Christmas Eve, okay?"

Temperance nodded.

"Good."

Bringing his hand down, he turned to his son who was beaming at him, the edge of his mouth all sticky from the syrup.

"All done?" Booth asked his son.

"All done."

* * *

The house seemed so quiet without Parker running all over the place. Booth and Parker had left only twenty minutes ago, leaving Temperance alone in their house. She knew she ought to use this free time to go back home and get some clothes but she couldn't bring herself to leave the house. There was something about this place that made her feel like home. Maybe it was the fact that Booth lived here or maybe it was simply because she knew that, if she ever came back here, there would be someone to welcome her but she liked Booth's small house. Her apartment now seemed cold and empty. She sighed as she realized that she never wanted to go back to her apartment but she knew that, as soon as Christmas was over, she'd have to. She'd have to go back to her loneliness.

She still had twenty minutes before Booth and Parker would be back. She just had one more thing to do. Getting up from the couch where she had been sitting, she walked to Booth's bedroom. In the closet, exactly where she had left it, she found it. His present, the one she had found only days ago. Taking it in her hands, she softly went over the outline of it. She was pretty sure he was going to like it.

* * *

"Bones! We're here!"

Temperance quickly stuffed the rest of the paper in the plastic bag in which Booth kept his wrapping paper before shoving it in the closet and closing the door. Booth's present laid on the carpet and Temperance could feel her heart racing in her chest. Where would she put it?

Footsteps were getting nearer and she knew that Booth was looking for her. Temperance quickly glanced around and, opening the first drawer she laid hands on, threw the little package in it. She was just closing it when Booth stuck his head through the door.

"Bones, we're here. Come meet my brother and my nephew."

Temperance nodded.

"What were you doing anyway?" Booth asked as she stepped out in the hallway.

"Nothing." She lied.

Booth eyed her suspiciously but didn't say anything.

She could tell right away that they were brothers. The two men looked exactly alike and if Jared hadn't looked a little older than her partner, Temperance would have sworn these two were twins.

"Jared, this is Temperance, my partner. Temperance, this is Jared, my older brother."

"How do you do?" Jared asked, holding out his hand.

Temperance shook it and smiled politely.

"Good. You?"

"Same."

Booth watched the exchange with mild amusement.

"Temperance, this is my seven-year-old nephew, Micheal."

"Hi." Micheal said, politely.

Temperance nodded.

"Hey Mike, do you want to see what I got for my birthday?" Parker asked, excitedly.

"Sure." The older boy replied as he ran off with his cousin towards his room.

Booth smiled tenderly at the boys before turning to his brother.

"I just have to tidy up the house, wrap Mom's present and then we can leave. I'll stop at a store on the way there for a bottle of wine."

"Works for me." Jared replied as he followed his brother into the kitchen.

Temperance quickly noticed how Jared limped as he walked. Tearing her eyes from Jared's damage leg, she followed the men into the kitchen.

"So how's work going for you?" Jared asked his brother.

"Oh, fine. Cullen wanted me to do this undercover case but I refused. Not after what happened the first time."

Jared nodded, knowingly.

"What happened the first time?" Temperance asked, confused. "You've been undercover before?"

"More than once, Bones. You, of all people, should remember the last time." Booth replied as he winked teasingly at her.

Temperance felt herself blush.

"What?" Jared asked, looking from his brother to Temperance. "What happened?"

Booth chuckled.

"Temperance and I had to pretend to be an engaged couple last year in Vegas."

Booth smiled at his friend before adding:

"It's the only time I got her to wear a sexy black dress and high-heels."

Temperance rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll just go check on the boys." Temperance said before walking out of the kitchen leaving two chuckling men behind her.

Jared waited a few seconds before making a comment.

"She's pretty hot."

"Yeah." Booth replied, evasively.

Jared nodded.

"Okay, touchy subject I see. You two aren't together?"

"She's my partner."

"Partner as in we get together twice a week or partner as in I work with her and that's that?"

Booth rolled his eyes.

"You certainly got her eye roll down to an art."

Booth glared at his brother.

"We work together. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't get involved with her."

"But you want to?"

Booth shrugged.

"It's complicated."

"Why is that?"

Booth leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"We argue all the time. She's this science freak who bases her decisions on evidence while I prefer to use my gut feeling. She's not much of a people person. You should have seen her when I first started working with her. She had no social skills whatsoever. She's so much better today. It's unbelievable."

"You know what I'm hearing, Seel?"

"What?"

"I'm hearing is "I can't be with her because we don't get along professionally." But how about personally, Seeley?"

"Oh, it's the same. We're always bickering. It's irritating."

"So what if it works for you? Every couple is different. If there's someone who knows that, it's you."

"We don't even want the same things in life." Booth went on, ignoring his brother's comment. "I want a big family, she doesn't want children. I want to get married, she doesn't believe in marriage. Her idea of Christmas is spending it alone, working at the lab. Her vision of sex is only a release of biological urges. She's so... scientific."

A smile tugged at Jared's lips.

"Who are you trying to convince that she's not right for you, Seeley? Me or you?"

Booth looked over at his brother.

"Sorry about that. It's just that I've been spending so much time with her lately that I'm getting used to having her around. Christmas is tomorrow which means that our time together is almost over. I guess I don't want to see it end."

"Wow! I've never seen you so into a woman since Rebecca."

Booth nodded.

"It's crazy, isn't it?"

Jared shrugged.

"I guess."

"And you? How are things with... what's her name?"

"Laura?"

Booth nodded.

"It's over."

"Oh, sorry man. I didn't know."

Jared shrugged once again.

"It was better like that. Mike didn't like her and I don't want to be with someone with whom my son didn't get along."

Booth sighed.

"Our sons, they're the love of our lives aren't they?"

Jared nodded.

The room fell silent. Temperance, outside the kitchen, pushed herself from the wall she had been leaning against and walked numbly to Booth's room.

* * *

"Parker! Micheal! Let's go!" Booth cried from the front door.

"Coming Dad!" Parked replied from his room.

Seconds later, two blond heads were appearing from the dark hallway, bags of presents in their hands.

"Are you two ready?" Jared asked.

"Yes." The two boys replied, together.

"It's not summer yet, Buddy. Boots on, please." Jared told his son.

"Oops." Mike replied as he sat down on the floor and grabbed his boots.

Temperance stared absently at the boys. Ever since the conversation she had heard that morning between Booth and his brother, her heart hadn't stopped racing. Booth wanted to be with her. He didn't want Christmas to come because he wanted to spend more time with her. He liked her, something she never thought would be possible the same reasons Booth had given his brother. They were just too different.

It simply felt strange. Everything he said, everything he did, she now saw in a different light. The play, the trip to New York, the conversation they had had about family, the small gestures like opening the door for her and hugging her- they had had a meaning. The look he often got in his eyes when he looked at her spoke volumes and it was only after hearing his conversation with his brother that Temperance was now seeing it. She had been blind.

She had spent the last couple of hours thinking about it. The conversation echoed in her mind and she wasn't able to shut out Booth's voice no matter how hard she tried. A small voice at the back of her mind told her that she had longed for a while now for him to say something like that but another part of her was pushing her to run away. She was felt conflicted, didn't know what to do, which voice to listen to. Did she even like Booth as more than just a friend? Did she want to start a relationship with him? Things could get complicated if they got involved romantically. There would be work, colleagues, friends... Cam. Things could get weird.

Coats and boots had been put on. Temperance felt a rush of cool air blow across her face, startling her out of her reverie. It was time to go. She let the boys go out first, followed by Jared. She was about to step outside when she felt a strong hand holding her back.

"Are you okay?"

Temperance spun around, her heart racing madly in her chest.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You've been acting weird all day. I didn't do anything wrong, did? Because if I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Their eyes locked and Temperance could feel her breath being knocked out of her. She wanted to say something but the words were stuck in her throat. Never in her entire life had she felt that way towards another person. It was almost frightening the effect Booth had on her.

She forced a smile before squeezing his arm gently.

"You did nothing wrong, Booth." She said.

Rubbing his arm, she turned around and stepped outside.

* * *

Temperance was pretty sure she had never seen a house with so many Christmas lights before. White, blue, red, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink illuminated the entire front yard and porch. From the window, Temperance could see a sparkling Christmas tree with its twinkling star at the top. In awe, she stepped out of the SUV and slammed the door behind.

The front door opened to reveal a tall, gray-haired woman. Two boys rushed passed Temperance and ran to the greet their grandmother. Temperance was beginning to feel nervous and forced herself not to shift into flight mode. She was doing this for Booth, Booth who liked her. Even after a few hours, the words still felt strange. Booth liked her. A smile tugged at her lips. Would she ever get used to the thought of Booth having feelings for her?

The woman waved at her and Temperance smiled. She turned to Booth who standing beside her, beaming.

"Come on. My mom can't wait to meet you."

Nodding, she followed Booth to the door, Jared behind them.

As they made their way to the door, Temperance felt the urge to take his hand in hers. She groaned inwardly. It was already starting. She was already seeking physical contact with him, whether it was simply holding his hand or being wrapped in his arms. She knew she'd get that feeling again tonight which made her groan even more. She had her answer. She liked him too.

Patricia Booth greeted them on the porch.

"Mom, this is Temperance. Temperance, this is my mom, Patricia. But you can call her Patty."

"Hi." Temperance said, somewhat shyly.

"Hey Sweetie." Patty said as she pulled her son's friend in her arms.

Temperance gently hugged the woman back.

"I'm so happy to meet you. Seeley called last night, telling me he was bringing a special someone." Patty said as they stepped back.

She winked at her son.

"I didn't say that, Mom." Booth immediately rectified, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I said I was bringing a friend for dinner. It's not the same thing."

Temperance looked up to find Booth looking sheepishly at her. At that moment, she simply wanted to wrap her arms around him. She groaned inwardly once again. It was going to be a long night.

They stepped into the warm and welcoming house. Patty hung their coats in the closet and Temperance followed Booth into the living room where a fire was slowly burning in the fireplace. Three people were already seated.

"Temperance, this is my father Joseph."

Joseph nodded politely. Temperance smiled politely back.

"And this is my brother-in-law Mark and my sister Andrea." Booth continued.

Andrea stood up.

"And this," Booth added, grabbing a small bundle of what looked to Temperance like blankets, "is my niece Hannah-Lee."

Temperance stared down at the little girl in her partner's arms. The child slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She looked from her uncle to Temperance before closing her eyes again.

"Would you like to hold her?" Andrea asked.

Temperance looked up at Booth's sister and shook her head.

"No. I couldn't. I mean..."

"Come on, Bones." Booth said, softly. "You won't drop her."

Looking from Andrea to Booth, she gave up arguing. Booth carefully placed the tiny baby in her arms.

Little Hannah-Lee felt heavy in her arms. As weird as it felt to hold something so small in her arms, Temperance quickly realized how easy it really was. few seconds, she finally relaxed and the baby didn't feel as heavy anymore. Temperance smiled. Maybe she could get used to this after all. Looking down one more time at the little girl in her arms, she then handed her back to her mother.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes." Patty said from behind them.

"Thanks, Mom. Parker, go wash up please." Booth told his son.

Parker nodded before disappearing down the hall with his cousin.

* * *

It was a little past nine when Booth was finally left the kitchen to find his partner sitting outside on the stairs of the porch, staring out in front of her. He quietly walked up to her, sat down beside her and stared in the same direction. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"What are we looking at?"

Temperance slowly turned to him.

"Nothing. I was thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing in particular."

Temperance stared back at the house across the street.

"My family really likes you, especially my mother."

Temperance smiled but said nothing.

"And you're lucky. You got a nicer present than I did."

Temperance uncurled her fist to reveal the golden chain with a dolphin Booth's parents had given her. She didn't even want to think of how much it had cost and Temperance was surprised that Booth's parents would spend so much money on a person they had never met before.

"It's really nice _and _there's a dolphin attached to it."

"I wonder who told them about the dolphin." Temperance said as she glanced briefly at her partner. "More importantly, I wonder where they got this present on Christmas Day."

"I have nothing to do with it." Booth replied, holding out his hands defensively.

Temperance smiled, knowing fully well Booth _had_ something to do with it. Booth chuckled.

"I'm happy you came with me tonight. It wouldn't have been the same if you wouldn't have."

Temperance turned to her friend to find the same look in his eyes he had had for the past week. This time, she didn't have to wonder. She knew what it meant. The physical urge to be closer to him attacked her once again. She tilted her head slightly to the side and slowly leaned forward. Taking the hint, Booth closed the distance between them.

His lips brushed lightly against hers once and he was about to pull away when Temperance claimed him back. Slowly and tenderly, they kissed under the winter sky. Booth slowly brought his hand to her cheek and stroke it with his thumb. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before pulling away.

Temperance slowly opened her eyes to find her friend staring at her. The Christmas lights sparkled in his brown eyes. She was about to say something when the front door opened.

"Come on you guys. It's Family Choir time." Andrea said excitedly before closing the door again, unaware of what had just occurred seconds ago.

Booth chuckled before standing up.

"It's going to be so off key but it's just something you _have_ to see." Booth said as he held out his hand.

Temperance grabbed it and got up.

* * *

**Who's going Awwww right now?**


	9. Christmas Day

**A/N: Well, guys this is it! The last chapter! Since the e-mails aren't working, I'll reply to a few reviews here. By the way, thank you all of you for the wonderful reviews you gave me. It really made my month (the month of December was really rough on me emotionally). Your reviews made my day every day. Thank you to those who read but didn't review and most of all, thank you to the 98 people who put this story on alert and the 23 who put it in their favorites.**

**mamabear04: No they didn't sleep together. Temperance simply slept in his bed that night. See explaination further down this chapter. **

**molly c: Thank you for your really nice reviews and hopefully your sister won't yell at you for squealing too loudly at the end of that chapter!**

**And now, I'll stop talking and let you guys read. Merry "belated" Christmas every day and a happy New Year!**

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**Christmas Day**

Temperance sighed happily as she slowly opened her eyes. Memories of the previous night rushed through her mind. A smile spread across her face as she thought about their kiss. She could still feel the softness of his lips on hers. She could still feel all the love, all the compassion that his kiss had communicated. She turned on her back and stared at their ceiling. She was being irrational, getting all worked up over a kiss, but she found that, at that moment, she didn't care. She laughed out loud. She _didn't _care.

She turned to the man sleeping beside her. His strong arms had held her all night. They had fought over who was going to take the couch. She had argued that she was the guest and should have been sleeping on the couch but Booth had told her that _because_ she was the guest, she was entitled to sleeping in his bed. After an hour or so of debating who was sleeping where, Booth had simply suggested they both sleep in his room.

"_After all, it's not like we've never done that before."_ He had said.

And Temperance had blushed at his reference to their undercover assignment in Vegas the previous year.

It had been settled. Minutes later, they were both crawling under the sheets, her on the left, him on the right. The rule had been simple: they both stayed on their side of the bed. But when, around two or three in the morning, Booth had pulled her to him in the middle of the bed and planted a tiny kiss on her shoulder, she had simply sighed and leaned back into his embrace.

Temperance swallowed. If this didn't stop soon, she'd fine herself in a relationship with her work partner before she even knew it.

She was surprised he was still asleep. She had figured he would have been up with the son, trying to keep his son away from the presents until she woke up. Then again, they had arrived late the previous night and Parker was probably just really exhausted.

She stared at him a little while longer until she felt him stirring. Turning her back on him, she pretended to be asleep.

"I know you're not asleep, Bones." Booth mumbled from his side of the bed.

Temperance closed her eyes and grimaced. She had been caught.

She slowly turned back to face him and smiled. Booth smiled back sleepily.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her.

"Yes. You?"

"No."

Temperance frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you kept kicking me."

Temperance slapped him hard on the chest, making Booth groan in pain.

"I do not kick in my sleep."

"That's what you think." Booth replied as he rubbed his painful chest.

Temperance rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised your son hasn't dashed in your bedroom yet." Temperance said as she turned onto her back to look at the ceiling.

"We made a deal last night. Since we arrived late, I told him he needed to stay in his room until the clock said nine o'clock and it's currently... eight-thirty."

"Your son is very respectful of rules. I'm surprised, considering..."

Booth turned to his side and propped himself on his elbow, head resting in his hand.

"Considering what?"

"Considering you're his father." Temperance replied before smiling teasingly at him.

Booth gaped at her.

"By the way, are we going to have this fight often?"

"What fight?" Booth asked as he sat up and flung his legs over the side of the bed.

"You wanting _me_ to take your bed while you slept on the couch?"

"Well you won last night." Booth reminded as he glanced around the room for his pants. "I slept in my bed."

"Yes but you didn't let me sleep on the couch."

"I've never going to let you sleep on the couch." Booth said as he grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on.

"And why is that?" Temperance asked.

"Because then I can't hold you in my arms."

Temperance blushed before looking away.

"Booth, I don't..."

Realizing his mistake, Booth quickly apologized.

"Sorry, Bones, I didn't mean to..."

"I know." Temperance replied, looking up briefly at him.

Booth cleared his throat.

"Come on, let's go celebrate Christmas. I know one kid who's probably going insane in his bedroom right now."

Temperance nodded before getting out of bed.

"You go ahead. I'll join you in a minute."

Frowning, Booth nevertheless left the room.

Temperance waited until Booth had left his room and had walked in his son's before opening every drawer in his dresser. What had she put his present? She searched for a few seconds before finding it in the top left drawer. Taking it in her hands, she closed the drawer and looked down at the carefully wrapped presents. Snowmen looked up at her and smiled. A nervous feeling crept inside of her and lodged itself at the bottom of stomach.

_Hopefully he's going to like his present._

Before walking out of the room, Temperance wondered if the nervous feeling was a normal Christmas feeling.

* * *

Parker was jumping up and down when Temperance walked in the living room. In an instant, the boy stopped moving and smiled brightly at his father's friend.

"Tempe! Look what Santa brung me!"

"That's... nice, Parker." Temperance said, forcing a smile.

The present she was holding in her hands now seemed heavier than before.

She turned her gaze to Booth who was staring at her expectantly.

"What have you got there, Bones? Is it my present?"

"Maybe." Temperance replied as she walked up to the tree and set the small package on a bigger.

"Maybe not."

Booth chuckled.

"Can we pleeeeeeeease open presents now?" Parker whined as he jumped up and down once again.

Booth looked over at Temperance who was forcing herself not to laugh.

"Seems like we have no choice." Temperance said.

"How many e's were in that word?"

Temperance simply giggled. Booth smiled.

"Okay Parker, sit."

The boy sat on the floor. Temperance raised her eyebrows, surprised.

"This year is going to be a little bit different, okay Buddy?"

Parker nodded.

"It's not just you and me this year, Temperance is here too. So we'll have to be patient. We're each going to unwrap presents one at a time? Do you think you can be patient?"

"What does pasint mean?"

Booth chuckled.

"Patient means we have to wait our turn and we don't get fussy because it's taking a long time."

Parker nodded. He could be _pasint_.

"Tempance, sit down." Parker told the anthropologist as he patted the floor beside him.

Temperance sat down. Booth looked at them both before grabbing the first package he laid hands on.

"This is one is for Parker from Santa."

Squealing in delight, Parker roughly grabbed the present from his father's hands.

"Gentle, Parker."

"Sorry, Dad." The boy replied as he tore the paper of his present. "COOL! A SpongeBob Square Pants video game!"

Temperance examined the little box the boy was holding and immediately recognized the sponge in pants on the boy's comforter.

"This is... for me!" Booth said as he read the name of the name tag on the second present.

"Who's it from?"

"From Jared and Mike." Booth read.

Seconds later, he was uncovering a new pair of Christmas socks. Booth laughed loudly.

"I told my brother I had lost my old Christmas socks. I think I had those pair for like five years but I lost them when I moved from my old house to here. I must have told him that months ago, I can't believe he remembered."

Looking down at the socks, he smiled.

"Do you like my new socks, Parker?"

The boy nodded.

"They're cool!"

Booth chuckled.

Turning to the pile of presents, he examined it in search of a present for his friend. Behind the big box containing their new television, he found a tiny box with Temperance's name written on it and immediately recognized it as Angela's handwriting. He grabbed it and handed it over.

"From Angela." He simply said.

He unfortunately never got to see what it was. Whatever had been in the little box was immediately hidden. Temperance looked up at him, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"A naughty present, is it?" Booth asked, teasingly.

"Let's just say it came from Angela."

Booth chuckled before grabbing another present.

* * *

There was only three presents left. Torn wrapping paper was scattered across the living room floor. Booth glanced at his watch. It was nearly eleven.

"Okay, looks like we only have one last present each."

Temperance looked from Parker's new book, her eyes opened wide. Her present. She had almost forgotten about it. She turned to the tree to find the small present on the floor. Temperance felt her heart beat quicker. She eyed the present like a menace, like a bomb only waiting for the perfect time to explode. Time stood still as she watched Booth grab it and read the name off the name tag. He set it on his laps before sliding Parker's last present to him. Then, picking up a tiny box off the floor, he handed it to her.

"This one's from me."

His voice had something different. She looked up from the box and locked eyes with him. He almost looked scared. And at that moment, Temperance wondered if Booth could read the same thing in her own eyes.

"Parker, you go first." Booth said.

It was almost as if he was stalling for time. Parker nodded and slowly unwrapped. Temperance watched him intently. She could feel Booth's eyes on her every now and then and she forced herself not to look at him. The box in her hands grew heavier by the second. Finally, Parker had unwrapped his present.

"Thank you, Daddy." The boy said as he got up and kissed his father.

"You're welcome, Bud."

"Okay now it's Tempe's turn." Parker said, sitting back down and looking excitedly at her.

"I hope you like it because there's no way I can exchange it or get a refund."

Temperance looked over at Booth. He had lost his smile and almost looked serious. With slightly shaking hands, she undid the bow decorating the box before slowly unwrapping it. A red box in the shape of a squashed cylinder was hidden underneath. Frowning, she looked up at her friend. His eyes were glued to the box.

Slowly, she opened one side of the box and looked inside. A thin, white line was all she saw.

Her fingers shook as she pulled the piece of paper out of the box. A puppy standing on his hind legs and holding a heart in his paws stared back at her. Temperance frowned.

"A Valentine's Day card?" She asked, surprised.

Booth ran a tongue over his lips, moistening his dry lips.

"Just flip it over."

His throat felt dry and he was pretty sure his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He watched as Temperance slowly flipped the paper over.

Her voice caught in her throat. She wanted to say something but found that she couldn't. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, drowning the tiny voice of Parker asking over and over again what his father had given her. She stared numbly at the writing at the back of the Valentine.

A full minute of silence passed. Sensing the tension, Parker fell quiet, his eyes going from his father to Temperance. Something was going on that he wasn't understanding. His father looked serious, Temperance had tears forming in her eyes that immediately disappeared the second she looked up at his father.

"So?" Booth asked, his voice completely betraying the fear he was feeling at that moment.

"Open your present." Temperance simply replied.

Booth looked down at the box, his heart sinking. Why wasn't she answering him?

"Open your present, Booth."

Her tone told him he'd have to do what he was told to.

He smiled at how she had wrapped his present. Neatly, symmetrically. Totally her. His smile immediately vanished. She hadn't answered him.

The object was heavy, heavier than he had expected. He tried guessing what it was but found that he couldn't. Carefully, he tore one side of the present before taking the object between his thumb and his index and sliding out of its package. His heart stopped as his gaze fell on the object.

He remembered vividly the day this picture had been taken. It had been after Parker's play. They had gone out for ice cream in a parlor near Parker's school. Booth had wanted to take a picture of them all together and he had asked the waitress who had served them to take it. He had joined Temperance and his son on their booth across from his and had settled Parker between them. He watched the way his partner's head and his own were tilted in each other's direction. It was as though their heads had known longer than them that they wanted each other.

"What is it, Daddy?"

Parker's little voice brought Booth crashing back to reality.

"It's a picture frame with a picture of us inside." Booth replied.

Parker scooted closer to his father to have a better look.

"What does that say?" Parker asked, pointing to a word sculpted on the frame above the picture.

"It says 'love'."

"How about that one?" Parker asked, pointing this time to the word at the bottom of the frame.

"That's family."

Booth looked up at Temperance and smiled. She had given him her answer.

He let his son admire the frame for a few more seconds before getting up.

"Parker, you stay here and play with your toys. I just need to talk to Temperance for a couple of minutes, okay?"

Parker nodded.

Temperance got up and followed her friend to the kitchen. She barely had the chance to step inside the kitchen that she was already being pulled into Booth's arms. His lips came crashing down on hers and she had no other option but to kiss him back. This time, there was no shyness, nobody looking at them and it certainly wasn't slow. The emotions Booth was currently experiencing were all thrown into that kiss. He held her close, his hand at the back of her head keeping her from pulling away.

When they finally did, Booth kissed her on the cheek before hugging her close to him. Unable to do anything else, Temperance hugged him back.

"Thank you." Booth whispered.

Temperance smiled.

"Merry Christmas."

Surprised, Booth pulled away.

"Did you just wish me a merry Christmas?"

"Yes. I think I did."

Booth kissed her tenderly.

"Merry Christmas, Temperance."

"Merry Christmas, Seeley."

Booth smiled before claiming her lips once more. When they broke away, Temperance asked the question that had been bothering her since she had read the note.

"What confession were you talking about?"

Booth simply chuckled.

"Let's just say that if I ever want to get the whole truth out of you, all I need to do is to get you drunk."

Temperance frowned, making Booth chuckle once more. He kissed her nose sweetly before grabbing her hand and leading her back to the living room.

Parker, who was still playing in the living room, was unaware of how much his life had just changed that day. Later on during the week, he would ask his cousin Mike to read the note his father had written to Temperance.

"It says,

_After your confession, I wasn't afraid to do this. _

_I like you a lot. _

_Will you give us a chance?_

I wonder what your dad is talking about?"

Parker poked his head out of his bedroom and looked down the hallway. From where he was, he could easily see the living room and the couch where his father and Temperance were now sitting. Temperance had her head on his father's shoulder, the same way he had seen Camille do only the year before. Except this time, there was one tiny difference. His father looked happy. He was smiling as he held her hand. He never did that with Camille, Parker remembered.

"I think it means that Daddy has a new girlfriend." Parker replied.

Mike simply shrugged.

In the living room, Booth and Temperance exchanged yet another kiss, grossing out the two boys down the hall.

* * *

Temperance eventually found out about the bet. To say that she simply shrugged it off would be an understatement but she eventually forgave her partner's overconfidence when he swept her off her feet once again on Valentine's Day.

* * *

**See you on Valentine's Day (wink wink)!**


End file.
